On a shelf in a cramped office on the outskirts of Moscow, businessman Igor Michurin has a framed photograph of himself shaking hands with one of his important customers - a North Korean embassy official whom Michurin calls Lee.

It's a relationship which offers unusual insights into the negotiating techniques of Pyongyang officials, and the ways North Korea has gone about commerce in the face of international economic sanctions – from trading in&nbsp;spare&nbsp;parts or wine and cigarettes, to offering labour for hire.

The Russian, whose two companies had revenue of nearly 42 million roubles ($671,000) according to 2016 records, was blacklisted a year ago by the US&nbsp;Treasury Department because he often did business with a North Korean company that, according to the United Nations Security Council, helped Pyongyang's weapons programme.

Michurin does not deny doing business with North Korea, but says he believes he did not break any laws.

The story is rooted in an old alliance. North Korea was founded by the Soviet Union, which supplied much of its original defence equipment. In the years since Pyongyang's nuclear weapons tests sparked sanctions, Moscow often resisted the measures.

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump said in January that Russia was helping North Korea evade sanctions Moscow says it is now actively cracking down on potential violations.

Around 2011, when Michurin got involved with Lee, UN&nbsp;monitors saw how Pyongyang would adapt bits and pieces of old, off-the-shelf, civilian equipment, and obsolete or unwanted&nbsp;parts to use in missiles. These&nbsp;parts reached North Korea from all over the world, including from past Soviet allies.

That's the kind of item Michurin started out selling to the North Koreans.

One of his companies, Ardis-Bearings, specialises in trading ball bearings - the steel balls that fit between the moving&nbsp;parts of a machine to help it run smoothly. Bearings can be used for military and civilian purposes, so are known as a "dual-use" technology.

UN&nbsp;member states are expressly forbidden from exporting certain types to North Korea.

Those were not the types Michurin sold Lee, he said. Instead, he provided "regular mass-produced stuff, surplus stock, old bearings."

Michurin said the Russian foreign ministry had questioned him last year about his sales to North Korea, and at the time ministry officials had told him they were responding to a message from the United States. Neither the foreign ministry nor the US&nbsp;Treasury Department answered questions for this story.&nbsp;

"A spark"

Tall, with grey hair, and casually dressed in jeans, Michurin is a 39-year-old native of Belarus who set up his own business seven years ago after working in small Moscow firms in the industrial bearings trade. He quickly found interest from Asian customers.

"As soon as I place an ad on the internet to say I have some bearings for sale, some Asians will always turn up," he said in the office in Moscow South where he ran the business until earlier this year. "They're always buying different bearings, they apparently have a demand for them."

At the end of 2011, soon after the funeral of&nbsp;Kim&nbsp;Jong Un's father,&nbsp;Kim&nbsp;Jong Il, Michurin said Lee invited him to the North Korean embassy. They walked together up a red carpet towards a portrait of the deceased&nbsp;leader, where they offered flowers.

"A spark ignited between us," Michurin said. He returned several times, attending concerts of national songs and dances, eating in a North Korean restaurant in the embassy compound, and negotiating in embassy meeting rooms.

"We treated each other as&nbsp;friends," Michurin said. "He was here in Moscow with his family, his wife and his child, we used to meet up, we spent time socialising as families."

In 2013, Lee persuaded Michurin to&nbsp;make&nbsp;a $1,000 contribution to a North Korean charitable fund: the&nbsp;Kim&nbsp;Il Sung-Kim&nbsp;Jong Il Foundation. The foundation's website is not available in Russia, but a video on YouTube says it was set up after&nbsp;Kim&nbsp;Jong Il's death, preserves the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun and raises money for "education, public health and environmental protection."

In return, Michurin got a certificate. "Great president&nbsp;Kim&nbsp;Il Sung and great leader&nbsp;Kim&nbsp;Jong Il will remain forever in the hearts of humankind," it said, alongside portraits of the leaders.

Lee's business with the Russian was small. He would arrange for someone to collect a few dozen bearings at a time - the most the North Koreans ever paid was 100,000 roubles ($1,500).

Michurin said he sold the items as an 'individual entrepreneur,' a designation under Russian tax law that does not require a vendor to have a contract with a customer or to obtain proof of their identity. All the vendor needs do is give the customer a receipt.

"When you buy bread from a shop, you don't get asked for your passport and ID documents, do you," Michurin shrugged.

"Communism"

His account of how the North Koreans established their relationship was echoed by another Russian entrepreneur.

Ruben Kirakossian, who supplies specialist metals to Russian state defence manufacturing firms, said he first met North Korean diplomats at a trade fair in Moscow, then visited the embassy Pyongyang's representatives came to his office. He said they were interested in a range of goods from Armenian cigarettes and wine to rolled aluminium and steel.

The US&nbsp;Treasury Department also blacklisted Kirakossian last year, alleging he procured metals for the Korea Tangun Trading Corporation, which the UN&nbsp;Security Council has said has a role in Pyongyang's weapons programme.

Kirakossian says he didn't supply anything because he didn't have the metal the North Koreans wanted, and they were proposing unrealistic terms. "The Koreans have a Communist set-up," Kirakossian said. "And in today's world, that's not a relevant proposition."

Tangun could not be reached and North Korea's mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment.

&nbsp;Diversification

Michurin's friend Lee "always looked for an opportunity to&nbsp;make&nbsp;money beyond bearings," Michurin said. About three years ago, he said, Lee proposed the&nbsp;partners' branch out into hiring cheap North Korean labour.

Almost 100,000 North Korean expatriates, most of them in China and Russia, funnel some $500 million a year in wages to help finance Pyongyang, the US&nbsp;government says.

Michurin set up a construction company and signed a contract with a North Korean firm called Ryungseng Trading Corporation.

Ryungseng would recruit workers in North Korea and organise their flights to Moscow, while Michurin would billet them and pay their wages.

The Russian put the North Koreans to work on construction sites. One contract he landed was a housing development called Orlov in Moscow region, about 20 km (12 miles) south-east of Moscow.

Yuri Ilyushkin, a representative of the developer, Pekhra-Pokrovskoe, said Michurin's North Korean workers were "even better than some Russians. Not excellent, but good."

The UN&nbsp;agreed last year to phase in a ban on employing North Koreans. Michurin said he still employs 19 of them, but he expects them to leave when their permits expire.

"Desire to Acquire"

Back in 2015, Michurin said, Lee kept pushing him for help. Late that year, the North Korean asked him to set up a meeting with executives at a Moscow-based firm called Augur RosAeroSystems.

Augur has been active in projects related to Russian state defence procurement since the late 1990s, according to its website: It has carried out testing for the Russian defence ministry, and the Russian military uses some of its products.

The North Koreans wanted to discuss the purchase of an airship, also known as an aerostat, for around $1 million, Michurin said. He said he twice took a North Korean delegation to Augur's plant at Peresvet, north-east of Moscow.

The company's former commercial director, Mikhail Talesnikov, confirmed the North Koreans had been in contact with Augur when he was at the company. "They wanted to buy some kind of small aerostat and asked for broad cooperation," he said. But he did not know about the visits and said he had not held any talks with the North Koreans.

Aerostats in themselves are not military equipment, Talesnikov said. But "you can suspend from them things that are for surveillance, eavesdropping, detecting gases, and the package together with the payload can already have a military or semi-military use."

In the end, there was no deal. For Augur, the prospect was too risky because "it contradicts international sanctions," Talesnikov said. Augur is now going through bankruptcy proceedings related to other business.

Michurin said the North Koreans had "particular requirements." Asked what those were he said: "A tendency to copy technology, a desire to set up joint ventures on North Korean soil, requests for non-standard equipment and dirigibles of non-standard sizes."

He described them as "very&nbsp;particular customers," with "an absence of money, but at the same time, a desire to acquire."

Two and a half years ago, Lee and his family went back to North Korea, Michurin said. Before the men&nbsp;parted, they met up with their families in a Moscow café to toast their relationship.

And before long, Michurin said he was contacted by another North Korean, who introduced himself as a trade representative at the embassy in Moscow, and said he was interested in acquiring bearings, as well as other items. The new trade representative of the North Korean embassy is&nbsp;Kim&nbsp;Ju Hyok, two of his colleagues said. He did not answer emails.

Michurin said he went on to sell&nbsp;more bearings to other Asian customers, who he presumed were also North Korean. Early last year, he said he was visited by Russian foreign ministry officials and gave them a list of equipment he sold to the North Koreans.

Then on June 1, 2017, the US&nbsp;Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which enforces America's sanctions, put Michurin and his company on its sanctioned list.

The department had found Ryungseng – the company Michurin contracted to import North Korean labourers - is an alias for the foreign operations of the banned Korea Tangun Trading Corporation.

Ryungseng could not be reached.

Michurin says he had no idea. "I am practically 100 per cent sure that there was no violation here from my behalf," he said. "Why do I leave a shadow of doubt? Because the laws, you cannot keep up with them all, there are so many of them. I hope I did not violate anything."

US President Donald Trump said in January that Russia was helping North Korea evade sanctions; Moscow says it is now actively cracking down on potential violations

On a shelf in a cramped office on the outskirts of Moscow, businessman Igor Michurin has a framed photograph of himself shaking hands with one of his important customers - a North Korean embassy official whom Michurin calls Lee. It's a relationship which offers unusual insights into the negotiating techniques of Pyongyang officials, and the ways North Korea has gone about commerce in the face of international economic sanctions – from trading in spare parts or wine and cigarettes, to offering labour for hire. The Russian, whose two companies had revenue of nearly 42 million roubles ($671,000) according to 2016 records, was blacklisted a year ago by the US Treasury Department because he often did business with a North Korean company that, according to the United Nations Security Council, helped Pyongyang's weapons programme. Michurin does not deny doing business with North Korea, but says he believes he did not break any laws. The story is rooted in an old alliance. North Korea was founded by the Soviet Union, which supplied much of its original defence equipment. In the years since Pyongyang's nuclear weapons tests sparked sanctions, Moscow often resisted the measures. US President Donald Trump said in January that Russia was helping North Korea evade sanctions Moscow says it is now actively cracking down on potential violations. Around 2011, when Michurin got involved with Lee, UN monitors saw how Pyongyang would adapt bits and pieces of old, off-the-shelf, civilian equipment, and obsolete or unwanted parts to use in missiles. These parts reached North Korea from all over the world, including from past Soviet allies. That's the kind of item Michurin started out selling to the North Koreans. One of his companies, Ardis-Bearings, specialises in trading ball bearings - the steel balls that fit between the moving parts of a machine to help it run smoothly. Bearings can be used for military and civilian purposes, so are known as a "dual-use" technology. UN member states are expressly forbidden from exporting certain types to North Korea. Those were not the types Michurin sold Lee, he said. Instead, he provided "regular mass-produced stuff, surplus stock, old bearings." Michurin said the Russian foreign ministry had questioned him last year about his sales to North Korea, and at the time ministry officials had told him they were responding to a message from the United States. Neither the foreign ministry nor the US Treasury Department answered questions for this story. "A spark" Tall, with grey hair, and casually dressed in jeans, Michurin is a 39-year-old native of Belarus who set up his own business seven years ago after working in small Moscow firms in the industrial bearings trade. He quickly found interest from Asian customers. "As soon as I place an ad on the internet to say I have some bearings for sale, some Asians will always turn up," he said in the office in Moscow South where he ran the business until earlier this year. "They're always buying different bearings, they apparently have a demand for them." At the end of 2011, soon after the funeral of Kim Jong Un's father, Kim Jong Il, Michurin said Lee invited him to the North Korean embassy. They walked together up a red carpet towards a portrait of the deceased leader, where they offered flowers. "A spark ignited between us," Michurin said. He returned several times, attending concerts of national songs and dances, eating in a North Korean restaurant in the embassy compound, and negotiating in embassy meeting rooms. "We treated each other as friends," Michurin said. "He was here in Moscow with his family, his wife and his child, we used to meet up, we spent time socialising as families." In 2013, Lee persuaded Michurin to make a $1,000 contribution to a North Korean charitable fund: the Kim Il Sung-Kim Jong Il Foundation. The foundation's website is not available in Russia, but a video on YouTube says it was set up after Kim Jong Il's death, preserves the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun and raises money for "education, public health and environmental protection." In return, Michurin got a certificate. "Great president Kim Il Sung and great leader Kim Jong Il will remain forever in the hearts of humankind," it said, alongside portraits of the leaders. Lee's business with the Russian was small. He would arrange for someone to collect a few dozen bearings at a time - the most the North Koreans ever paid was 100,000 roubles ($1,500). Michurin said he sold the items as an 'individual entrepreneur,' a designation under Russian tax law that does not require a vendor to have a contract with a customer or to obtain proof of their identity. All the vendor needs do is give the customer a receipt. "When you buy bread from a shop, you don't get asked for your passport and ID documents, do you," Michurin shrugged. "Communism" His account of how the North Koreans established their relationship was echoed by another Russian entrepreneur. Ruben Kirakossian, who supplies specialist metals to Russian state defence manufacturing firms, said he first met North Korean diplomats at a trade fair in Moscow, then visited the embassy Pyongyang's representatives came to his office. He said they were interested in a range of goods from Armenian cigarettes and wine to rolled aluminium and steel. The US Treasury Department also blacklisted Kirakossian last year, alleging he procured metals for the Korea Tangun Trading Corporation, which the UN Security Council has said has a role in Pyongyang's weapons programme. Kirakossian says he didn't supply anything because he didn't have the metal the North Koreans wanted, and they were proposing unrealistic terms. "The Koreans have a Communist set-up," Kirakossian said. "And in today's world, that's not a relevant proposition." Tangun could not be reached and North Korea's mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment. Diversification Michurin's friend Lee "always looked for an opportunity to make money beyond bearings," Michurin said. About three years ago, he said, Lee proposed the partners' branch out into hiring cheap North Korean labour. Almost 100,000 North Korean expatriates, most of them in China and Russia, funnel some $500 million a year in wages to help finance Pyongyang, the US government says. Michurin set up a construction company and signed a contract with a North Korean firm called Ryungseng Trading Corporation. Ryungseng would recruit workers in North Korea and organise their flights to Moscow, while Michurin would billet them and pay their wages. The Russian put the North Koreans to work on construction sites. One contract he landed was a housing development called Orlov in Moscow region, about 20 km (12 miles) south-east of Moscow. Yuri Ilyushkin, a representative of the developer, Pekhra-Pokrovskoe, said Michurin's North Korean workers were "even better than some Russians. Not excellent, but good." The UN agreed last year to phase in a ban on employing North Koreans. Michurin said he still employs 19 of them, but he expects them to leave when their permits expire. "Desire to Acquire" Back in 2015, Michurin said, Lee kept pushing him for help. Late that year, the North Korean asked him to set up a meeting with executives at a Moscow-based firm called Augur RosAeroSystems. Augur has been active in projects related to Russian state defence procurement since the late 1990s, according to its website: It has carried out testing for the Russian defence ministry, and the Russian military uses some of its products. The North Koreans wanted to discuss the purchase of an airship, also known as an aerostat, for around $1 million, Michurin said. He said he twice took a North Korean delegation to Augur's plant at Peresvet, north-east of Moscow. The company's former commercial director, Mikhail Talesnikov, confirmed the North Koreans had been in contact with Augur when he was at the company. "They wanted to buy some kind of small aerostat and asked for broad cooperation," he said. But he did not know about the visits and said he had not held any talks with the North Koreans. Aerostats in themselves are not military equipment, Talesnikov said. But "you can suspend from them things that are for surveillance, eavesdropping, detecting gases, and the package together with the payload can already have a military or semi-military use." In the end, there was no deal. For Augur, the prospect was too risky because "it contradicts international sanctions," Talesnikov said. Augur is now going through bankruptcy proceedings related to other business. Michurin said the North Koreans had "particular requirements." Asked what those were he said: "A tendency to copy technology, a desire to set up joint ventures on North Korean soil, requests for non-standard equipment and dirigibles of non-standard sizes." He described them as "very particular customers," with "an absence of money, but at the same time, a desire to acquire." Two and a half years ago, Lee and his family went back to North Korea, Michurin said. Before the men parted, they met up with their families in a Moscow café to toast their relationship. And before long, Michurin said he was contacted by another North Korean, who introduced himself as a trade representative at the embassy in Moscow, and said he was interested in acquiring bearings, as well as other items. The new trade representative of the North Korean embassy is Kim Ju Hyok, two of his colleagues said. He did not answer emails. Michurin said he went on to sell more bearings to other Asian customers, who he presumed were also North Korean. Early last year, he said he was visited by Russian foreign ministry officials and gave them a list of equipment he sold to the North Koreans. Then on June 1, 2017, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which enforces America's sanctions, put Michurin and his company on its sanctioned list. The department had found Ryungseng – the company Michurin contracted to import North Korean labourers - is an alias for the foreign operations of the banned Korea Tangun Trading Corporation. Ryungseng could not be reached. Michurin says he had no idea. "I am practically 100 per cent sure that there was no violation here from my behalf," he said. "Why do I leave a shadow of doubt? Because the laws, you cannot keep up with them all, there are so many of them. I hope I did not violate anything."

Kim Jong Un's art of the deal - make friends for spare parts

Russian President Vladimir Putin said&nbsp;on Wednesday&nbsp;a decision by US&nbsp;President Donald Trump to set up a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was "brave and mature", and said that he was expecting a "positive outcome".

The historic summit will take place on&nbsp;June 12&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/kim-trump-summit-to-take-place-in-singapores-capella-hotel-on-sentosa-island-142478">in Singapore</a>, in the latest twist in a high-stakes diplomatic drive by the United States to curtail Pyongyang's nuclear arms programme.

On Friday, Trump, in a complete reversal, said he would hold the meeting with Kim after initially cancelling it, citing what he called Pyongyang's "open hostility".

"I still hope that this meeting – a very brave and mature decision US&nbsp;President Donald Trump has made, to have direct contacts with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un – will take place, and we all expect a positive outcome," Putin said in an interview with China Media Group.

Putin is due to take part in a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation later this week.

The Kremlin leader said last month that his own proposed meeting with Trump was not working out for now and was beset by problems.

Trump said in March that the two leaders would meet soon, but since then already poor ties between Washington and Moscow have deteriorated further over the conflict in Syria and the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain.

Trump will meet Kim on June 12 in Singapore. Putin said he was expecting a 'positive outcome' from the 'brave and mature' decision

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday a decision by US President Donald Trump to set up a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was "brave and mature", and said that he was expecting a "positive outcome". The historic summit will take place on June 12 in Singapore, in the latest twist in a high-stakes diplomatic drive by the United States to curtail Pyongyang's nuclear arms programme. On Friday, Trump, in a complete reversal, said he would hold the meeting with Kim after initially cancelling it, citing what he called Pyongyang's "open hostility". "I still hope that this meeting – a very brave and mature decision US President Donald Trump has made, to have direct contacts with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un – will take place, and we all expect a positive outcome," Putin said in an interview with China Media Group. Putin is due to take part in a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation later this week. The Kremlin leader said last month that his own proposed meeting with Trump was not working out for now and was beset by problems. Trump said in March that the two leaders would meet soon, but since then already poor ties between Washington and Moscow have deteriorated further over the conflict in Syria and the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain.

Putin praises 'brave' Trump over planned meeting with North Korea's Kim

President Donald Trump on Thursday played down the chances of a quick breakthrough in talks with North Korea about its nuclear arsenal, as the top US&nbspdiplomat and a senior official from Pyongyang wrapped up two days of negotiations.

Trump, in a brief interview with Reuters aboard Air Force One on the way to Texas, said he was still hoping to hold an unprecedented summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12 in Singapore.

"I’d like to see it done in one meeting," he said. "But often times that’s not the way deals work. There’s a very good chance that it won’t be done in one meeting or two meetings or three meetings.&nbspBut it’ll get done at some point."

It was not clear if Trump meant he would need a second summit with Kim to reach the U.S. goal of persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear arms, or if he believed more lower-level talks were needed.

US&nbspSecretary of State Mike Pompeo and high-ranking North Korean official Kim Yong Chol concluded two days of meetings in New York on Thursday aimed at clearing the way for the summit.

"The meetings went well. They made progress," a senior U.S. State Department official said.

Trump said the North Korean envoy would be coming most likely on Friday to the White House to present him with a letter from Kim Jong Un.

North Korea, whose nuclear ambitions have been a source of world tension for decades, has made advances in missile technology in recent years but Trump has sworn not to allow it to develop nuclear missiles that could hit the United States.

He wants North Korea to "denuclearize," meaning to get rid of its nuclear arms, but the leadership in Pyongyang is believed to regard nuclear weapons as crucial to its survival and has rejected unilaterally disarming.

DIPLOMATIC FLURRY

Trump and Kim traded insults and threats of war last year but in March the bellicose rhetoric gave way to a proposal for a historic summit. However, disputes between Washington and Pyongyang led Trump to announce on May 24 he was cancelling the Singapore meeting with Kim, only to say the following day that it could still happen.

The days since have seen a flurry of diplomatic efforts to get the summit back on track.

If the North Korean delegation goes to the White House, it would be the first visit there by high-level Pyongyang officials since 2000 when senior figure Jo Myong Rok met President Bill Clinton.

Pompeo and Kim Yong Chol met for the second day in New York on Thursday. They shook hands at the start of their latest meeting at a condominium overlooking the East River.

Four officials from both sides sat across each other around a table in a room with a bay window that gave spectacular views of Manhattan, including the U.N. headquarters.

Kim Yong Chol is a close aide of leader Kim Jong Un and is vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee.

The United States, in return for North Korea giving up its nuclear weapons, could potentially loosen economic sanctions, leading to possible food and other aid to North Korea and improved ties with South Korea.

North and South Korea have technically been at war for decades, even though the Korean War's military combat ended in 1953 because a peace agreement was never signed.

China, North Korea's main trading partner and a key ally, said it supported and encouraged the "emerging good faith" between the United States and North Korea.

"At the same time as working to achieve the goal of denuclearization, we should also build long-term and effective initiatives to keep peace on the Korean peninsula," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said in Beijing.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and high-ranking North Korean official Kim Yong Chol concluded two days of meetings in New York on Thursday aimed at clearing the way for the summit.

President Donald Trump on Thursday played down the chances of a quick breakthrough in talks with North Korea about its nuclear arsenal, as the top US&nbspdiplomat and a senior official from Pyongyang wrapped up two days of negotiations. Trump, in a brief interview with Reuters aboard Air Force One on the way to Texas, said he was still hoping to hold an unprecedented summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12 in Singapore. "I’d like to see it done in one meeting," he said. "But often times that’s not the way deals work. There’s a very good chance that it won’t be done in one meeting or two meetings or three meetings.&nbspBut it’ll get done at some point." It was not clear if Trump meant he would need a second summit with Kim to reach the U.S. goal of persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear arms, or if he believed more lower-level talks were needed. US&nbspSecretary of State Mike Pompeo and high-ranking North Korean official Kim Yong Chol concluded two days of meetings in New York on Thursday aimed at clearing the way for the summit. "The meetings went well. They made progress," a senior U.S. State Department official said. Trump said the North Korean envoy would be coming most likely on Friday to the White House to present him with a letter from Kim Jong Un. North Korea, whose nuclear ambitions have been a source of world tension for decades, has made advances in missile technology in recent years but Trump has sworn not to allow it to develop nuclear missiles that could hit the United States. He wants North Korea to "denuclearize," meaning to get rid of its nuclear arms, but the leadership in Pyongyang is believed to regard nuclear weapons as crucial to its survival and has rejected unilaterally disarming. DIPLOMATIC FLURRY Trump and Kim traded insults and threats of war last year but in March the bellicose rhetoric gave way to a proposal for a historic summit. However, disputes between Washington and Pyongyang led Trump to announce on May 24 he was cancelling the Singapore meeting with Kim, only to say the following day that it could still happen. The days since have seen a flurry of diplomatic efforts to get the summit back on track. If the North Korean delegation goes to the White House, it would be the first visit there by high-level Pyongyang officials since 2000 when senior figure Jo Myong Rok met President Bill Clinton. Pompeo and Kim Yong Chol met for the second day in New York on Thursday. They shook hands at the start of their latest meeting at a condominium overlooking the East River. Four officials from both sides sat across each other around a table in a room with a bay window that gave spectacular views of Manhattan, including the U.N. headquarters. Kim Yong Chol is a close aide of leader Kim Jong Un and is vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee. The United States, in return for North Korea giving up its nuclear weapons, could potentially loosen economic sanctions, leading to possible food and other aid to North Korea and improved ties with South Korea. North and South Korea have technically been at war for decades, even though the Korean War's military combat ended in 1953 because a peace agreement was never signed. China, North Korea's main trading partner and a key ally, said it supported and encouraged the "emerging good faith" between the United States and North Korea. "At the same time as working to achieve the goal of denuclearization, we should also build long-term and effective initiatives to keep peace on the Korean peninsula," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said in Beijing.

Trump plays down chances of quick North Korea breakthrough, talks wrap up

President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed Monday that it is "imperative" to completely dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program, the White House said.

The US and Japanese leaders will meet ahead of a much-anticipated summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un back on schedule for June 12 in Singapore just days after Trump announced he was cancelling it.&nbsp;

The American president said the summit could go ahead as planned following a more appealing statement from Pyongyang and productive talks with North Korean officials.

Japan, which has by far the hardest line compared to neighbours China and South Korea, has been left uneasy by the pace of events, and by what it sees as an unwarranted softening toward an untrustworthy Pyongyang.

Abe and Trump spoke by telephone a day after American and North Korean officials met at a border truce village to prepare for the summit.

During a telephone call, the pair "discussed recent developments in North Korea and confirmed they would meet again to continue close coordination in advance of the expected meeting between the United States and North Korea," a White House statement read.

"The president and prime minister affirmed the shared imperative of achieving the complete and permanent dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and ballistic missile programs."

Washington wants North Korea to quickly give up all its nuclear weapons in a verifiable way in return for sanctions and economic relief.&nbsp;

Pyongyang has a different view of denuclearization and remains deeply worried that abandoning its deterrent would leave the country -- and its leader -- vulnerable, especially while the United States maintains a robust military presence in South Korea.

The US and Japanese leaders will meet ahead of a much-anticipated summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un back on schedule for June 12 in Singapore

President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed Monday that it is "imperative" to completely dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program, the White House said. The US and Japanese leaders will meet ahead of a much-anticipated summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un back on schedule for June 12 in Singapore just days after Trump announced he was cancelling it. The American president said the summit could go ahead as planned following a more appealing statement from Pyongyang and productive talks with North Korean officials. Japan, which has by far the hardest line compared to neighbours China and South Korea, has been left uneasy by the pace of events, and by what it sees as an unwarranted softening toward an untrustworthy Pyongyang. Abe and Trump spoke by telephone a day after American and North Korean officials met at a border truce village to prepare for the summit. During a telephone call, the pair "discussed recent developments in North Korea and confirmed they would meet again to continue close coordination in advance of the expected meeting between the United States and North Korea," a White House statement read. "The president and prime minister affirmed the shared imperative of achieving the complete and permanent dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and ballistic missile programs." Washington wants North Korea to quickly give up all its nuclear weapons in a verifiable way in return for sanctions and economic relief. Pyongyang has a different view of denuclearization and remains deeply worried that abandoning its deterrent would leave the country -- and its leader -- vulnerable, especially while the United States maintains a robust military presence in South Korea.

Trump, Abe say 'imperative' to dismantle North Korean weapons

US&nbspstocks dropped on Thursday, but were well off the session lows hit after President Donald Trump cancelled a summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un and threatened to impose tariffs on auto imports.

Trump cancelled the June 12 meeting citing Pyongyang's "open hostility,", even after North Korea followed through on a pledge to blow up tunnels at its nuclear test site.

The market, already lower due to a slide in oil prices and worries over Trump ordering a national security investigation into car and truck imports, dropped sharply after the meeting was called off.

The autos probe, ordered on Wednesday, could lead to new tariffs and China called the move an "abuse" of the national security clauses and said it would defend its interests.

Market participants said the drop after the summit was cancelled was a knee-jerk reaction.&nbsp

"Really not sure why people are looking at it so negatively, except when world politics is unstable, investors` knee-jerk reaction is to sell first and ask questions later," said Rick Meckler, partner, Cherry Lane Investments, a

family investment office in New Vernon, New Jersey.

"The bigger news has really been the proposed tariffs on foreign cars, the administration provides so much potential change everyday, that it's difficult for investors to see consistency to the economic future."

At 13:24 pm&nbspET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 64.85 points, or 0.26 per cent, at 24,821.96, the S&P 500 was down 4.23 points, or 0.15 per cent, at 2,729.06 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.98 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 7,427.94.

Earlier in the session the blue chip Dow fell as much as 1.1 per cent to touch a two-week low.

Defense stocks jumped after Trump called off the North Korea meeting and warned that the US&nbspmilitary was ready in the event of any reckless acts by North Korea.

Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors were in the red, with financials dropping 0.67 per cent.

The big banks were trading lower as the minutes from the Federal Reserve`s latest meeting tempered expectations of faster interest rate hikes.

The energy sector fell 1.25 per cent alongside a slide in oil prices.

US&nbspcrude future declined about 1 per cent, with expectations building that OPEC could wind down an output deal due to concerns about supplies from Venezuela and Iran.&nbsp

Ford and General Motors gained on the possibility of tariffs on European and Asian car imports. US-listed shares of Fiat fell 1.5 per cent.

Best Buy Co tumbled 7.5 per cent after the consumer electronics retailer reported a slowdown in quarterly online sales and did not update its full-year outlook.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.01-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 1.02-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 19 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 89 new highs and 37 new lows.

Trump cancelled the June 12 meeting citing Pyongyang's "open hostility,", even after North Korea followed through on a pledge to blow up tunnels at its nuclear test site

US&nbspstocks dropped on Thursday, but were well off the session lows hit after President Donald Trump cancelled a summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un and threatened to impose tariffs on auto imports. Trump cancelled the June 12 meeting citing Pyongyang's "open hostility,", even after North Korea followed through on a pledge to blow up tunnels at its nuclear test site. The market, already lower due to a slide in oil prices and worries over Trump ordering a national security investigation into car and truck imports, dropped sharply after the meeting was called off. The autos probe, ordered on Wednesday, could lead to new tariffs and China called the move an "abuse" of the national security clauses and said it would defend its interests. Market participants said the drop after the summit was cancelled was a knee-jerk reaction. "Really not sure why people are looking at it so negatively, except when world politics is unstable, investors` knee-jerk reaction is to sell first and ask questions later," said Rick Meckler, partner, Cherry Lane Investments, a family investment office in New Vernon, New Jersey. "The bigger news has really been the proposed tariffs on foreign cars, the administration provides so much potential change everyday, that it's difficult for investors to see consistency to the economic future." At 13:24 pm&nbspET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 64.85 points, or 0.26 per cent, at 24,821.96, the S&P 500 was down 4.23 points, or 0.15 per cent, at 2,729.06 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.98 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 7,427.94. Earlier in the session the blue chip Dow fell as much as 1.1 per cent to touch a two-week low. Defense stocks jumped after Trump called off the North Korea meeting and warned that the US&nbspmilitary was ready in the event of any reckless acts by North Korea. Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors were in the red, with financials dropping 0.67 per cent. The big banks were trading lower as the minutes from the Federal Reserve`s latest meeting tempered expectations of faster interest rate hikes. The energy sector fell 1.25 per cent alongside a slide in oil prices. US&nbspcrude future declined about 1 per cent, with expectations building that OPEC could wind down an output deal due to concerns about supplies from Venezuela and Iran. Ford and General Motors gained on the possibility of tariffs on European and Asian car imports. US-listed shares of Fiat fell 1.5 per cent. Best Buy Co tumbled 7.5 per cent after the consumer electronics retailer reported a slowdown in quarterly online sales and did not update its full-year outlook. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.01-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 1.02-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded 19 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 89 new highs and 37 new lows.

Wall Street dips after Trump cancels North Korea summit, targets car imports

The latest development in Trump-Kim summit has reduced the price of the 'commemorative coin'&nbsp;to $19 which was earlier set at $25.

The coin is available for buyers at the White House gift shop. On Thursday, the gift shop was offering the coin at $19 under the "Deal of the day" offer.&nbsp;

In a bid to mint strong ties with the Kim Jong-Un regime, the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/watch-trump-administration-releases-commemorative-coin-ahead-of-us-n-korea-summit-138824">Trump administration released the 'Trip Coin'</a> last week, before Trump called off the summit which was scheduled to take place in Singapore on June 12.

The coin has 'Peace Talks' inscribed on it along with the image of both the leaders, facing each other, against the backdrop of the US and the North Korean flag.&nbsp;

Trump cancelled the June 12 meeting citing Pyongyang's "open hostility" even after North Korea followed through on a pledge to blow up tunnels at its nuclear test site.

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-style-solution-north-korea-says-still-open-to-talks-after-summit-cancelled-139544">'Trump-style solution'? North Korea says still open to talks after summit cancelled</a> 
&nbsp;

The coin is available for buyers at the White House gift shop

The latest development in Trump-Kim summit has reduced the price of the 'commemorative coin' to $19 which was earlier set at $25. The coin is available for buyers at the White House gift shop. On Thursday, the gift shop was offering the coin at $19 under the "Deal of the day" offer. In a bid to mint strong ties with the Kim Jong-Un regime, the Trump administration released the 'Trip Coin' last week, before Trump called off the summit which was scheduled to take place in Singapore on June 12. The coin has 'Peace Talks' inscribed on it along with the image of both the leaders, facing each other, against the backdrop of the US and the North Korean flag. Trump cancelled the June 12 meeting citing Pyongyang's "open hostility" even after North Korea followed through on a pledge to blow up tunnels at its nuclear test site. Also read: 'Trump-style solution'? North Korea says still open to talks after summit cancelled

Commemorative 'trip coin' prices drop to $19 as Trump calls off North Korea summit

Donald Trump holds a high-stakes meeting with South Korea's president at the White House&nbsp;Tuesday, talks that could decide whether the US president's much-vaunted summit with the North's leader Kim Jong Un goes ahead.

Moon Jae-in jets into Washington on a mission to salvage a rare diplomatic opening between the US and North Korea that is in trouble almost before it begins.

Trump had agreed to meet inscrutable "Supreme Leader" Kim in Singapore on&nbsp;June 12, but the first-ever US-North Korea summit is now in serious doubt, with both sides expressing reservations.

South Korea -- worried about Kim's bellicose weapons testing and Trump's similarly bellicose warnings about a looming war -- was instrumental in convincing the two Cold War foes to sit down and talk.

Moon sent his own national security advisor to the White House in March, carrying an offer of talks and word that North Korea may be willing to abandon nuclear weapons, an enticing prospect.

Trump surprised his guests, his own aides and the world by summarily accepting the meeting, seeing an opportunity to "do a deal" and avoid military confrontation.

Pyongyang is on the verge of marrying nuclear and missile technology allowing it to hit the continental United States with a nuke, a capability Washington sees as wholly unacceptable.

Since then, there has been a landmark series of intra-Korean meetings, two trips to Pyongyang by Mike Pompeo -- first as CIA director then as America's top diplomat -- and three American citizens have been released from the North.

But after several Trumpian victory laps, North Korea's willingness to denuclearize is now in serious doubt.

Earlier this month, North Korea denounced US demands for "unilateral nuclear abandonment" and cancelled at the last minute a high-level meeting with the South in protest over joint military drills between Seoul and Washington.

Trump responded by saying the meeting may or may not take place.

Vice President Mike Pence warned in an interview&nbsp;on Monday&nbsp;night that there was "no question" that Trump would be prepared to walk away from the talks with Kim if it looks like they won't yield results and that the president was not just after a public relations triumph.&nbsp;

Pence said that both the Clinton and Bush administrations "got played" by North Korea when Washington previously tried to get Pyongyang to denuclearize but the current administration would not make the same mistakes.

"It would be a great mistake for Kim Jong Un to think he could play Donald Trump," he told Fox News.

'We'll see what happens'

Trump also surprised many by offering Kim an upfront security guarantee, allowing him to stay in power, and suggested that Kim's apparent about-face may have been at the behest of Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

"It could very well be that he's influencing Kim Jong Un," Trump said, citing a recent meeting between the pair, their second in a month's time. "We'll see what happens."

Analysts saw North Korea's perceived slow peddling as evidence of what they feared all along, that Pyongyang may have been playing for time -- hoping to ease sanctions and "maximum pressure" or of South Korea overtorquing the prospects of a deal.

"The current episode of tension reflects a wide and dangerous expectation gap between the United States and North Korea," said Eric Gomez of the CATO Institute.

"Denuclearization is not off the table for the North, but it expects the United States to end the so-called 'hostile policy' as a precondition for denuclearization."

It is far from clear what that means concretely, but it could include the forced withdrawal of 30,000 US troops from the Korean peninsula.

With just weeks to go and little clarity on what will be discussed or what happens if talks fail, some Korea watchers predict fireworks during Trump's talks with Moon.

"It increasingly looks like the Moon administration overstated North Korea's willingness to deal. Moon will probably get an earful over that," said Robert Kelly of Pusan National University.

Yonhap news agency quoted a Blue House official as saying Moon would "likely tell President Trump what to expect and what not to expect from Kim."

Moon sent his own national security advisor to the White House in March, carrying an offer of talks and word that North Korea may be willing to abandon nuclear weapons

Donald Trump holds a high-stakes meeting with South Korea's president at the White House Tuesday, talks that could decide whether the US president's much-vaunted summit with the North's leader Kim Jong Un goes ahead. Moon Jae-in jets into Washington on a mission to salvage a rare diplomatic opening between the US and North Korea that is in trouble almost before it begins. Trump had agreed to meet inscrutable "Supreme Leader" Kim in Singapore on June 12, but the first-ever US-North Korea summit is now in serious doubt, with both sides expressing reservations. South Korea -- worried about Kim's bellicose weapons testing and Trump's similarly bellicose warnings about a looming war -- was instrumental in convincing the two Cold War foes to sit down and talk. Moon sent his own national security advisor to the White House in March, carrying an offer of talks and word that North Korea may be willing to abandon nuclear weapons, an enticing prospect. Trump surprised his guests, his own aides and the world by summarily accepting the meeting, seeing an opportunity to "do a deal" and avoid military confrontation. Pyongyang is on the verge of marrying nuclear and missile technology allowing it to hit the continental United States with a nuke, a capability Washington sees as wholly unacceptable. Since then, there has been a landmark series of intra-Korean meetings, two trips to Pyongyang by Mike Pompeo -- first as CIA director then as America's top diplomat -- and three American citizens have been released from the North. But after several Trumpian victory laps, North Korea's willingness to denuclearize is now in serious doubt. Earlier this month, North Korea denounced US demands for "unilateral nuclear abandonment" and cancelled at the last minute a high-level meeting with the South in protest over joint military drills between Seoul and Washington. Trump responded by saying the meeting may or may not take place. Vice President Mike Pence warned in an interview on Monday night that there was "no question" that Trump would be prepared to walk away from the talks with Kim if it looks like they won't yield results and that the president was not just after a public relations triumph. Pence said that both the Clinton and Bush administrations "got played" by North Korea when Washington previously tried to get Pyongyang to denuclearize but the current administration would not make the same mistakes. "It would be a great mistake for Kim Jong Un to think he could play Donald Trump," he told Fox News. 'We'll see what happens' Trump also surprised many by offering Kim an upfront security guarantee, allowing him to stay in power, and suggested that Kim's apparent about-face may have been at the behest of Chinese leader Xi Jinping. "It could very well be that he's influencing Kim Jong Un," Trump said, citing a recent meeting between the pair, their second in a month's time. "We'll see what happens." Analysts saw North Korea's perceived slow peddling as evidence of what they feared all along, that Pyongyang may have been playing for time -- hoping to ease sanctions and "maximum pressure" or of South Korea overtorquing the prospects of a deal. "The current episode of tension reflects a wide and dangerous expectation gap between the United States and North Korea," said Eric Gomez of the CATO Institute. "Denuclearization is not off the table for the North, but it expects the United States to end the so-called 'hostile policy' as a precondition for denuclearization." It is far from clear what that means concretely, but it could include the forced withdrawal of 30,000 US troops from the Korean peninsula. With just weeks to go and little clarity on what will be discussed or what happens if talks fail, some Korea watchers predict fireworks during Trump's talks with Moon. "It increasingly looks like the Moon administration overstated North Korea's willingness to deal. Moon will probably get an earful over that," said Robert Kelly of Pusan National University. Yonhap news agency quoted a Blue House official as saying Moon would "likely tell President Trump what to expect and what not to expect from Kim."

Trump-Kim summit in play as Moon visits White House

US President Donald Trump on Monday urged China to maintain tight control of its border with North Korea until he signs a denuclearization deal with Kim Jong UN.

Trump is scheduled to hold a landmark summit with the North Korean leader June 12 in Singapore, but Pyongyang recently has threatened to pull out over US demands for "unilateral nuclear abandonment."&nbsp

"China must continue to be strong & tight on the Border of North Korea until a deal is made," Trump tweeted, suggesting China may have eased up on enforcing economic sanctions against Pyongyang.

"The word is that recently the Border has become much more porous and more has been filtering in.", he wrote, adding he wants North Korea to be 'VERY successful,' but only once a deal has been reached on denuclearization," he said.&nbsp

China is North Korea's biggest trade partner, and Trump has called on it repeatedly to press Pyongyang to rein in its nuclear and missile programs.

Besides protesting US disarmament demands, North Korea also angrily condemned joint US-South Korean military exercises, and last week pulled out of planned inter-Korean talks.

Trump's National Security Advisor John Bolton also has drawn Pyongyang's ire by referring to Libya as a denuclearization model. After giving up Libya's nuclear program in 2003, leader Moamer Kadhafi was killed in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.

North Korea's sudden shift in attitude followed a weeks-long charm offensive that saw Kim Jong Un hold a historic summit in the Demilitarized Zone with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and meet twice with China's President Xi Jinping.

As prospects for the Singapore summit dimmed, Trump offered assurances that if the summit is successful, Kim "will get protections that will be very strong."

"He'd be in his country and running his country. His country would be very rich," he told reporters last week.

US President Donald Trump on Monday urged China to maintain tight control of its border with North Korea until he signs a denuclearization deal with Kim Jong UN

US President Donald Trump on Monday urged China to maintain tight control of its border with North Korea until he signs a denuclearization deal with Kim Jong UN. Trump is scheduled to hold a landmark summit with the North Korean leader June 12 in Singapore, but Pyongyang recently has threatened to pull out over US demands for "unilateral nuclear abandonment." "China must continue to be strong & tight on the Border of North Korea until a deal is made," Trump tweeted, suggesting China may have eased up on enforcing economic sanctions against Pyongyang. "The word is that recently the Border has become much more porous and more has been filtering in.", he wrote, adding he wants North Korea to be 'VERY successful,' but only once a deal has been reached on denuclearization," he said. China is North Korea's biggest trade partner, and Trump has called on it repeatedly to press Pyongyang to rein in its nuclear and missile programs. Besides protesting US disarmament demands, North Korea also angrily condemned joint US-South Korean military exercises, and last week pulled out of planned inter-Korean talks. Trump's National Security Advisor John Bolton also has drawn Pyongyang's ire by referring to Libya as a denuclearization model. After giving up Libya's nuclear program in 2003, leader Moamer Kadhafi was killed in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011. North Korea's sudden shift in attitude followed a weeks-long charm offensive that saw Kim Jong Un hold a historic summit in the Demilitarized Zone with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and meet twice with China's President Xi Jinping. As prospects for the Singapore summit dimmed, Trump offered assurances that if the summit is successful, Kim "will get protections that will be very strong." "He'd be in his country and running his country. His country would be very rich," he told reporters last week.

Trump urges China to clamp down on North Korea border

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Washington's chief diplomat Mike Pompeo is on his way to North Korea to prepare for a landmark nuclear summit.&nbsp; &nbsp;

"At this very moment, Secretary Pompeo is on his way to North Korea in preparation for my upcoming meeting with Kim Jong Un," Trump said, in a White House address.

Pompeo, who met Kim in Pyongyang last month while he was still director of the CIA, will arrive in the North in "virtually an hour," Trump said.

In addition to planning the summit, due later this month or early in June, Pompeo has been pressing the regime to release three detained US citizens.&nbsp;

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had secretly met Kim Jong-Un in Pyongyang last month

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Washington's chief diplomat Mike Pompeo is on his way to North Korea to prepare for a landmark nuclear summit. "At this very moment, Secretary Pompeo is on his way to North Korea in preparation for my upcoming meeting with Kim Jong Un," Trump said, in a White House address. Pompeo, who met Kim in Pyongyang last month while he was still director of the CIA, will arrive in the North in "virtually an hour," Trump said. In addition to planning the summit, due later this month or early in June, Pompeo has been pressing the regime to release three detained US citizens.

Pompeo heading to North Korea to prepare summit with Kim Jong-Un, says Trump

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged US counterpart Donald Trump to take Pyongyang's "reasonable security concerns" into consideration, in a phone call Tuesday hours after Xi met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Xi told Trump that he supports the planned meeting between the US and North Korean leaders, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

The Chinees president "hopes the US and North Korea can work together, build mutual trust" and "consider North Korea's reasonable security concerns," the report said.

The North has long demanded the withdrawal of US troops from the peninsula and an end to its nuclear umbrella over South Korea.

Trump said last week that he was not envisaging a drawdown of troops in South Korea for now, but he admitted it was a possibility in the longer term.

The US said the two leaders agreed to keep economic pressure on North Korea. Beijing -- Pyongyang's sole major diplomatic and economic ally -- has backed UN sanctions over North Korea's nuclear programme.

"President Trump and President Xi agreed on the importance of continued implementation of sanctions on North Korea until it permanently dismantles its nuclear and missile programmes," the White House said in a statement.

Xi and Kim met on Monday and Tuesday in the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian, the North Korean leader's second trip to China in six weeks as the two countries seek to bolster frayed ties.

The meeting came as Kim is expected to meet with Trump in June, possibly in Singapore.

"China is willing to continue playing a positive role for the realisation of denuclearisation of the Peninsula and long-term peace and security of the region," Xi told Trump.

Xi and Trump also discussed trade frictions.

"The economy and trade has always been the ballast and propellor of the China-US relationship," Xi said.

US and Chinese official held talks in Beijing last week, but no breakthroughs were announced.

Xi described the discussions as "frank, efficient and constructive".

"Both sides can maintain communication and strive to find a way to appropriately resolve the existing issues and obtain mutually beneficial win-win results," he was quoted as saying.

Xi told Trump that he supports the planned meeting between the US and North Korean leaders, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged US counterpart Donald Trump to take Pyongyang's "reasonable security concerns" into consideration, in a phone call Tuesday hours after Xi met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Xi told Trump that he supports the planned meeting between the US and North Korean leaders, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. The Chinees president "hopes the US and North Korea can work together, build mutual trust" and "consider North Korea's reasonable security concerns," the report said. The North has long demanded the withdrawal of US troops from the peninsula and an end to its nuclear umbrella over South Korea. Trump said last week that he was not envisaging a drawdown of troops in South Korea for now, but he admitted it was a possibility in the longer term. The US said the two leaders agreed to keep economic pressure on North Korea. Beijing -- Pyongyang's sole major diplomatic and economic ally -- has backed UN sanctions over North Korea's nuclear programme. "President Trump and President Xi agreed on the importance of continued implementation of sanctions on North Korea until it permanently dismantles its nuclear and missile programmes," the White House said in a statement. Xi and Kim met on Monday and Tuesday in the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian, the North Korean leader's second trip to China in six weeks as the two countries seek to bolster frayed ties. The meeting came as Kim is expected to meet with Trump in June, possibly in Singapore. "China is willing to continue playing a positive role for the realisation of denuclearisation of the Peninsula and long-term peace and security of the region," Xi told Trump. Xi and Trump also discussed trade frictions. "The economy and trade has always been the ballast and propellor of the China-US relationship," Xi said. US and Chinese official held talks in Beijing last week, but no breakthroughs were announced. Xi described the discussions as "frank, efficient and constructive". "Both sides can maintain communication and strive to find a way to appropriately resolve the existing issues and obtain mutually beneficial win-win results," he was quoted as saying.

Xi urges Trump to consider North Korea's 'reasonable security concerns': State media

Days after a historic inter-Korean summit Lee Min-bok, a defector who has been flying anti-Pyongyang leaflets into the North for 15 years, received a call from an official at Seoul's Unification Ministry urging him to halt his balloon campaign.

It was a plea by South Korea not to jeopardise the recent thaw, engineered by the leaders of the two Koreas who agreed during last week's summit to cease all hostile acts along the border - including the distribution of leaflets - from May 1.

On Saturday, police prevented a planned release of balloons by a defector group after a confrontation with anti-leaflet protesters.

For Lee, the campaign is personal. He says reading such leaflets as a young man in the North brought an "awakening moment" in 1990 that helped him realise how oppressive and destitute his homeland was at a time when the South was emerging as an economic powerhouse. In 1995, he escaped to South Korea.

"I really believed that Kim Il Sung was the centre of the world and he was making everything right and great for us," Lee said, referring to North Korea's founding father, the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un.

"Realising what I had learned, heard and read were all lies, I decided to defect to the South to live with the truth."

Lee, who launched his first batch of balloons in 2003 and has since dispatched more than 300 million, runs one of several defector-led civic groups that regularly send leaflets across the border carrying messages critical of Kim and human rights abuses in North Korea.

Their campaign now poses a thorny dilemma for Seoul, which is striving to keep up the momentum for inter-Korean reconciliation after a decade of confrontation amid the North's growing nuclear weapons and missile programmes.

Pyongyang has in the past blamed Seoul for failing to stop previous leaflet launches, calling them "an act of war". The two Koreas even traded fire in 2014 after the North's military shot machine guns at balloons launched by defector activists.

Launch Blocked

In the call from the Unification Ministry, the official repeatedly pleaded for an end to balloon launches, promising support if his group switched to other activities aimed at improving human rights in North Korea, according to Lee.

The ministry was not available for comment on the call, but on Friday it issued a statement urging civic groups to halt leaflet launches, which it said would violate the spirit of the agreement made at the summit and heighten military tensions and safety concerns.

Some South Koreans also think the balloon campaign should end.

"Customers stopped visiting our town after North Korea threatened to shoot the balloons," said Kim Hyung-do, who runs a chicken soup restaurant in the border city of Paju.

"The mood between the two Koreas has a big impact on our lives. I hope they won't send flyers and throw cold water on this good mood after the summit."

Despite the pleas, a group of North Korean defectors flocked to Paju on Saturday to fly balloons into the North.

The group prepared 150,000 leaflets, 1,000 $1 bills and 500 booklets authored by another defector on South Korea's dramatic rise from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War, said its leader Park Sang-haak.

"We are carried away by Kim Jong Un's sudden deceitful peace offensive, but just a while ago he blackmailed us and the whole world with nuclear and missile provocations, while killing his own family members and executives," Park said.

About 150 residents of Paju and members of a small, progressive party staged a protest against the leaflet launch, and one protester ran into Park as he gave a speech, prompting police to intervene.

"I risked my life to cross the border. You can't stop me," a colleague of Park furiously shouted at the man, drawing applause from other defectors.

The launch was eventually called off as police blocked the truck carrying the balloons from entering the site. Local police were not immediately available for comment.

Leaflet War

The two Koreas have waged rival leaflet campaigns for decades.

The South's military used to launch anti-North flyers across the demilitarised zone, but the programme ended in 2010, a defence ministry official said.

Defector groups continued the campaign, sending, along with the flyers, $1 bills, mini radios, instant food such ramen noodles and USB sticks containing South Korean dramas and news.

Pyongyang has also used balloons to send its own propaganda leaflets, which typically feature military threats and satirical images of South Korean and US leaders.

"I remember picking up fliers praising Kim Il Sung from the playground and mountain near my home when I was in elementary school, and we were told to drop them at a police box and get pencils as a reward," said Kim Chang-hwan, a 35-year-old book editor in Seoul.

"It was sort of scary as we were taught that those things were very bad, but when I saw them again during my military service, I would just laugh it off."

Defector and human rights campaigners say the South Korean government cannot obstruct civilian activities that they say are subject to freedom of speech guaranteed by the constitution.

In 2015, a local court dismissed a lawsuit filed by a group of residents to prevent Park's leaflet campaign, citing freedom of expression.

But in a separate 2016 case, the Supreme Court ruled the government could limit the civic group's activities due to residents' safety concerns.

President Moon Jae-in, a former human rights lawyer, took office last May, pledging to re-engage the North. As an opposition lawmaker, Moon co-sponsored a resolution calling for a halt to leaflet launches in 2014.

"The agreement from the summit doesn't have binding authority over what the people do or don't do," said Kim Tae-hoon, a member of Hanbyun, an association of lawyers for human rights and unification. "And it can't undercut the universal value of human rights."

It was a plea by South Korea not to jeopardise the recent thaw, engineered by the leaders of the two Koreas who agreed during last week's summit to cease all hostile acts along the border - including the distribution of leaflets - from May 1

Days after a historic inter-Korean summit Lee Min-bok, a defector who has been flying anti-Pyongyang leaflets into the North for 15 years, received a call from an official at Seoul's Unification Ministry urging him to halt his balloon campaign. It was a plea by South Korea not to jeopardise the recent thaw, engineered by the leaders of the two Koreas who agreed during last week's summit to cease all hostile acts along the border - including the distribution of leaflets - from May 1. On Saturday, police prevented a planned release of balloons by a defector group after a confrontation with anti-leaflet protesters. For Lee, the campaign is personal. He says reading such leaflets as a young man in the North brought an "awakening moment" in 1990 that helped him realise how oppressive and destitute his homeland was at a time when the South was emerging as an economic powerhouse. In 1995, he escaped to South Korea. "I really believed that Kim Il Sung was the centre of the world and he was making everything right and great for us," Lee said, referring to North Korea's founding father, the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un. "Realising what I had learned, heard and read were all lies, I decided to defect to the South to live with the truth." Lee, who launched his first batch of balloons in 2003 and has since dispatched more than 300 million, runs one of several defector-led civic groups that regularly send leaflets across the border carrying messages critical of Kim and human rights abuses in North Korea. Their campaign now poses a thorny dilemma for Seoul, which is striving to keep up the momentum for inter-Korean reconciliation after a decade of confrontation amid the North's growing nuclear weapons and missile programmes. Pyongyang has in the past blamed Seoul for failing to stop previous leaflet launches, calling them "an act of war". The two Koreas even traded fire in 2014 after the North's military shot machine guns at balloons launched by defector activists. Launch Blocked In the call from the Unification Ministry, the official repeatedly pleaded for an end to balloon launches, promising support if his group switched to other activities aimed at improving human rights in North Korea, according to Lee. The ministry was not available for comment on the call, but on Friday it issued a statement urging civic groups to halt leaflet launches, which it said would violate the spirit of the agreement made at the summit and heighten military tensions and safety concerns. Some South Koreans also think the balloon campaign should end. "Customers stopped visiting our town after North Korea threatened to shoot the balloons," said Kim Hyung-do, who runs a chicken soup restaurant in the border city of Paju. "The mood between the two Koreas has a big impact on our lives. I hope they won't send flyers and throw cold water on this good mood after the summit." Despite the pleas, a group of North Korean defectors flocked to Paju on Saturday to fly balloons into the North. The group prepared 150,000 leaflets, 1,000 $1 bills and 500 booklets authored by another defector on South Korea's dramatic rise from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War, said its leader Park Sang-haak. "We are carried away by Kim Jong Un's sudden deceitful peace offensive, but just a while ago he blackmailed us and the whole world with nuclear and missile provocations, while killing his own family members and executives," Park said. About 150 residents of Paju and members of a small, progressive party staged a protest against the leaflet launch, and one protester ran into Park as he gave a speech, prompting police to intervene. "I risked my life to cross the border. You can't stop me," a colleague of Park furiously shouted at the man, drawing applause from other defectors. The launch was eventually called off as police blocked the truck carrying the balloons from entering the site. Local police were not immediately available for comment. Leaflet War The two Koreas have waged rival leaflet campaigns for decades. The South's military used to launch anti-North flyers across the demilitarised zone, but the programme ended in 2010, a defence ministry official said. Defector groups continued the campaign, sending, along with the flyers, $1 bills, mini radios, instant food such ramen noodles and USB sticks containing South Korean dramas and news. Pyongyang has also used balloons to send its own propaganda leaflets, which typically feature military threats and satirical images of South Korean and US leaders. "I remember picking up fliers praising Kim Il Sung from the playground and mountain near my home when I was in elementary school, and we were told to drop them at a police box and get pencils as a reward," said Kim Chang-hwan, a 35-year-old book editor in Seoul. "It was sort of scary as we were taught that those things were very bad, but when I saw them again during my military service, I would just laugh it off." Defector and human rights campaigners say the South Korean government cannot obstruct civilian activities that they say are subject to freedom of speech guaranteed by the constitution. In 2015, a local court dismissed a lawsuit filed by a group of residents to prevent Park's leaflet campaign, citing freedom of expression. But in a separate 2016 case, the Supreme Court ruled the government could limit the civic group's activities due to residents' safety concerns. President Moon Jae-in, a former human rights lawyer, took office last May, pledging to re-engage the North. As an opposition lawmaker, Moon co-sponsored a resolution calling for a halt to leaflet launches in 2014. "The agreement from the summit doesn't have binding authority over what the people do or don't do," said Kim Tae-hoon, a member of Hanbyun, an association of lawyers for human rights and unification. "And it can't undercut the universal value of human rights."

South Korea faces dilemma over anti-North leaflets as ties thaw

China's state councillor Wang Yi met with the North's foreign minister Ri Yong Ho in Pyongyang where they discussed bilateral ties and issues regarding the Korean Peninsula, North Korean and Chinese state media reported on Thursday.

Chinese state television CCTV showed Wang meeting Ri and offering flowers at the Friendship Tower and Mansudae Grand Monument in Pyongyang.

North Korea's official news agency KCNA released still photographs of the activities, which could not be independently verified.

CCTV said Wang offered his congratulations for the successful summit between the leaders of the North and South during. Ri told Wang that North Korea is willing to keep close communications with China on realizing denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula, CCTV added.

China is North Korea's most important economic and diplomatic backer, despite Beijing's anger at Pyongyang's repeated nuclear and missile tests and support for strong United Nations sanctions against the North.

Chinese state television CCTV showed Wang meeting Ri and offering flowers at the Friendship Tower and Mansudae Grand Monument in Pyongyang

China's state councillor Wang Yi met with the North's foreign minister Ri Yong Ho in Pyongyang where they discussed bilateral ties and issues regarding the Korean Peninsula, North Korean and Chinese state media reported on Thursday. Chinese state television CCTV showed Wang meeting Ri and offering flowers at the Friendship Tower and Mansudae Grand Monument in Pyongyang. North Korea's official news agency KCNA released still photographs of the activities, which could not be independently verified. CCTV said Wang offered his congratulations for the successful summit between the leaders of the North and South during. Ri told Wang that North Korea is willing to keep close communications with China on realizing denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula, CCTV added. China is North Korea's most important economic and diplomatic backer, despite Beijing's anger at Pyongyang's repeated nuclear and missile tests and support for strong United Nations sanctions against the North.

China's senior diplomat meets with North Korea foreign minister

North Korea must commit to dismantling its nuclear weapons programme, new US&nbsp;Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday during a swearing-in ceremony at the State Department where he was strongly endorsed by US&nbsp;President Donald Trump.

It was Trump's first visit to the State Department, where he was greeted by loud applause from several hundred people gathered in the Benjamin Franklin state dining room.

"That's more spirit than I've heard from the State Department in a long time," Trump joked, praising Pompeo's credentials and record as CIA director.

Trump fired his first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, in March after public disagreements over North Korea, Iran and Russia. The department had been sidelined on major foreign policy issues and shaken by the resignation of senior diplomats.

"I have no doubt that you will make America proud as our nation's chief diplomat," Trump told Pompeo before Vice President Mike Pence administered the oath in a ceremonial swearing in.

Pompeo, who secretly met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the Easter weekend, said North Korea must commit to immediately dismantling its weapons programme, adding that efforts to denuclearize Pyongyang were still in the "beginning stages" and the outcomes "unknown."

"We are committed to the permanent, verifiable, irreversible dismantling of North Korea's weapons of mass destruction programme and to do so without delay," he said as Trump prepares for a historic meeting with Kim to convince Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear missile programme.

In a statement later marking North Korea Freedom Week, the State Department said it was gravely concerned about human rights abuses by what it called one of the most repressive and abusive governments in the world.

"We remain gravely concerned and deeply troubled by these abuses," the department said. "In tandem with the maximum pressure campaign, we will continue to press for accountability for those responsible."

Listing major challenges ahead, Pompeo said the United States was deciding on next steps of a "flawed" nuclear deal with Iran and confronting Moscow's "acts of aggression".

"My team and I will be unrelenting in confronting those threats," said Pompeo. "We will deploy tough diplomacy when necessary to put the interest of the American people first," he added.

Pompeo sought to quickly put his mark on his new role as secretary of state by rushing off to meet allies in Europe and the Middle East moments after he was confirmed on Thursday.

In his talks with NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Pompeo emphasized Russian aggression and pushed for higher defence spending.

In the Middle East, he warned of Iran's "malign behaviour" as he discussed changes to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

He stressed that the United States had not decided whether to withdraw from the deal struck with Iran and six major powers including France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China.

It was Trump's first visit to the State Department, where he was greeted by loud applause from several hundred people gathered in the Benjamin Franklin state dining room

North Korea must commit to dismantling its nuclear weapons programme, new US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday during a swearing-in ceremony at the State Department where he was strongly endorsed by US President Donald Trump. It was Trump's first visit to the State Department, where he was greeted by loud applause from several hundred people gathered in the Benjamin Franklin state dining room. "That's more spirit than I've heard from the State Department in a long time," Trump joked, praising Pompeo's credentials and record as CIA director. Trump fired his first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, in March after public disagreements over North Korea, Iran and Russia. The department had been sidelined on major foreign policy issues and shaken by the resignation of senior diplomats. "I have no doubt that you will make America proud as our nation's chief diplomat," Trump told Pompeo before Vice President Mike Pence administered the oath in a ceremonial swearing in. Pompeo, who secretly met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the Easter weekend, said North Korea must commit to immediately dismantling its weapons programme, adding that efforts to denuclearize Pyongyang were still in the "beginning stages" and the outcomes "unknown." "We are committed to the permanent, verifiable, irreversible dismantling of North Korea's weapons of mass destruction programme and to do so without delay," he said as Trump prepares for a historic meeting with Kim to convince Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear missile programme. In a statement later marking North Korea Freedom Week, the State Department said it was gravely concerned about human rights abuses by what it called one of the most repressive and abusive governments in the world. "We remain gravely concerned and deeply troubled by these abuses," the department said. "In tandem with the maximum pressure campaign, we will continue to press for accountability for those responsible." Listing major challenges ahead, Pompeo said the United States was deciding on next steps of a "flawed" nuclear deal with Iran and confronting Moscow's "acts of aggression". "My team and I will be unrelenting in confronting those threats," said Pompeo. "We will deploy tough diplomacy when necessary to put the interest of the American people first," he added. Pompeo sought to quickly put his mark on his new role as secretary of state by rushing off to meet allies in Europe and the Middle East moments after he was confirmed on Thursday. In his talks with NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Pompeo emphasized Russian aggression and pushed for higher defence spending. In the Middle East, he warned of Iran's "malign behaviour" as he discussed changes to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. He stressed that the United States had not decided whether to withdraw from the deal struck with Iran and six major powers including France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China.

North Korea must denuclearise: Pompeo

Every event of Korean leaders' summit on April 27, 2018, was covered extensively by the media where they highlighted their pledge to end six decades of hostility. Airing their rhetoric about commitment to peace and "complete" denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and eventually achieve unification, looks too good, but too quick, to be true.

In a scripted ceremony, Kim Jong-un did become the first North Korean leader to walk across the demarcation line to South Korea since the Korean War of 1953. The war was halted by an armistice signed in 1953, but did not formally end through any permanent peace agreement. The declaration by both to work together for a "nuclear-free Korea", disarmament, as well as officially ending the war at Panmunjom in 2018 is a historical event, which may outwardly amuse population both sides, but it needs careful decoding.

How and why the event happened as per expected script?

South Korea was under maximum pressure due to war clouds over its territory because of hard line taken by North Korea and the US. Kim's adventurism with no noticeable control by China and Russia, a war of words and incremental sanctions by US and UN were making things worse in the Korean Peninsula. Mountain collapsing at the nuclear site and fear of radiation continue to add to the risk to nearby areas. Under immense pressure, South Korea was able to set the stage for Kim-Trump meet, which is possible only if this summit went off well on scripted lines. Under domestic pressure due to hard hitting sanctions, and nuclear test related dangers, Kim was also mentally prepared to follow the peace narrative.

Will this inter-Korean peace initiative work?

The United States, China and Russia welcomed the agreement as their first response. The criticism indicates that the document promises mutual disarmament "in a phased manner" to build trust, lacks any roadmap/timelines for implementation. It does not meet US expectation of "complete, verifiable and irreversible" dismantling of North Korea's nuclear weapons. Any real promise regarding dismantling of missiles and nuclear weapons was missing, and Kim's image of being nuclear powered dictator has remained intact. Irrespective of skeptics, this summit has set the tone for the Trump-Kim Summit, although some more diplomatic efforts will have to follow.

Beyond the optics

There were some difficulties, which made some ideas of the summit impractical. Here are some of them:

<ul>
	<li>While everyone will like to see the peace and prosperity of Koreans but neither China nor US will be keen for a unified Korea. This will also invite internal opposition in South Korea. China will not like a democratic unified Korea, balancing between US and China, whereas US will not like its foothold in Korea going away so easily.</li>
	<li>When North Korea threatened the US and Japan, the issue expanded beyond bilateral limits of North and South Korea, hence cannot be settled by them bilaterally. Any permanent solution has to be acceptable to US, China, Japan and Russia.</li>
	<li>When Armistice was signed in 1953, US and China representatives were present. The same is a must for lasting peace.</li>
	<li>Expecting Kim to give away the only leverage he has in terms of posing nuclear and missile threat to US, something which has forced President Trump to meet him, sounds unrealistic.</li>
</ul>

This event is a good beginning which has a face saving option for all parties unless a hard line is adopted by someone. The US and Japan are unlikely to be moved by optics and will be keen in eradication of threat to them, hence may not remove or soften sanctions, which Kim may be eyeing for by such niceties with South

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

In a scripted ceremony, Kim Jong-un did become the first North Korean leader to walk across the DMZ to South Korea.

Every event of Korean leaders' summit on April 27, 2018, was covered extensively by the media where they highlighted their pledge to end six decades of hostility. Airing their rhetoric about commitment to peace and "complete" denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and eventually achieve unification, looks too good, but too quick, to be true. In a scripted ceremony, Kim Jong-un did become the first North Korean leader to walk across the demarcation line to South Korea since the Korean War of 1953. The war was halted by an armistice signed in 1953, but did not formally end through any permanent peace agreement. The declaration by both to work together for a "nuclear-free Korea", disarmament, as well as officially ending the war at Panmunjom in 2018 is a historical event, which may outwardly amuse population both sides, but it needs careful decoding. How and why the event happened as per expected script? South Korea was under maximum pressure due to war clouds over its territory because of hard line taken by North Korea and the US. Kim's adventurism with no noticeable control by China and Russia, a war of words and incremental sanctions by US and UN were making things worse in the Korean Peninsula. Mountain collapsing at the nuclear site and fear of radiation continue to add to the risk to nearby areas. Under immense pressure, South Korea was able to set the stage for Kim-Trump meet, which is possible only if this summit went off well on scripted lines. Under domestic pressure due to hard hitting sanctions, and nuclear test related dangers, Kim was also mentally prepared to follow the peace narrative. Will this inter-Korean peace initiative work? The United States, China and Russia welcomed the agreement as their first response. The criticism indicates that the document promises mutual disarmament "in a phased manner" to build trust, lacks any roadmap/timelines for implementation. It does not meet US expectation of "complete, verifiable and irreversible" dismantling of North Korea's nuclear weapons. Any real promise regarding dismantling of missiles and nuclear weapons was missing, and Kim's image of being nuclear powered dictator has remained intact. Irrespective of skeptics, this summit has set the tone for the Trump-Kim Summit, although some more diplomatic efforts will have to follow. Beyond the optics There were some difficulties, which made some ideas of the summit impractical. Here are some of them: While everyone will like to see the peace and prosperity of Koreans but neither China nor US will be keen for a unified Korea. This will also invite internal opposition in South Korea. China will not like a democratic unified Korea, balancing between US and China, whereas US will not like its foothold in Korea going away so easily. When North Korea threatened the US and Japan, the issue expanded beyond bilateral limits of North and South Korea, hence cannot be settled by them bilaterally. Any permanent solution has to be acceptable to US, China, Japan and Russia. When Armistice was signed in 1953, US and China representatives were present. The same is a must for lasting peace. Expecting Kim to give away the only leverage he has in terms of posing nuclear and missile threat to US, something which has forced President Trump to meet him, sounds unrealistic. This event is a good beginning which has a face saving option for all parties unless a hard line is adopted by someone. The US and Japan are unlikely to be moved by optics and will be keen in eradication of threat to them, hence may not remove or soften sanctions, which Kim may be eyeing for by such niceties with South (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Decoding the Kim and Moon summit for a nuclear free Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un plans to invite experts and journalists from the United States and South Korea when the country closes its nuclear test site in May, Seoul officials said on Sunday, as US&nbsp;President Trump pressed for total denuclearisation ahead of his own unprecedented meeting with Kim.

On Friday, Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in vowed "complete denuclearisation" of the Korean peninsula in the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade, but the declaration did not include concrete steps to reach that goal.

North Korea's state media had said before the summit that Pyongyang would immediately suspend nuclear and missile tests, scrap its nuclear test site and instead pursue economic growth and peace.

Kim told Moon that he would soon invite the experts and journalists to "open to the international community" the dismantling of the facilities, the Blue House said.

"The United States, though inherently hostile to North Korea, will get to know once our talk begins that I am not the kind of person who will use nuclear weapons against the South or the United States across the Pacific," Moon's press secretary Yoon Young-chan quoted Kim as saying.

"There is no reason for us to possess nuclear weapons while suffering difficulties if mutual trust with the United States is built through frequent meetings from now on, and an end to the war and non-aggression are promised."

Kim said there were two additional, larger tunnels that remain "in a very good condition" at the Punggye-ri test site beyond the existing one, which experts have said had collapsed after repeated explosions, rendering much of the site useless.

Kim's promise shows his willingness to "preemptively and actively" respond to inspection efforts to be made as part of the denuclearisation process, Yoon said.

To facilitate future cross-border cooperation, Kim pledged to scrap the unique time zone Pyongyang created in 2015. He said the North would move its clocks forward 30 minutes to be in sync with the South, nine hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.

Kim also reaffirmed that he would not use military force against the South and raised the need for an institutional mechanism to prevent unintended escalations, Yoon said.

NEXT STEPS

Late Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump told Moon in a phone call that he was pleased the leaders of the two Koreas reaffirmed the goal of complete denuclearisation during their summit, Seoul officials said on Sunday.

Moon and Trump agreed on the need for an early summit between Trump and Kim, and explored two to three potential locations, one of which Moon suggested, the Blue House said.

The candidates for the venue did not include North Korea, the United States or the demilitarised zone dividing the two Koreas, a Blue House official told reporters, declining to elaborate.

A senior U.S. official has said Singapore is being considered as a possible venue for the Trump-Kim summit.

"Trump said it was good news for not only the two Koreas but the whole world that they affirmed the goal of realizing a nuclear-free Korean peninsula through a complete denuclearisation," Blue House spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told a separate briefing.

"Moon told Trump that Kim said he and Trump would get along with each other, ... and Trump was looking forward to talks with Kim and there would be a very good result."

Trump, who called the 75-minute chat "a long and very good talk" on Twitter, said his summit with Kim would take place sometime in the next three to four weeks.

"It's going be a very important meeting, the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula," he said at a campaign rally in Washington, Michigan, on Saturday.

The White House said Trump and Moon during the call "emphasized that a peaceful and prosperous future for North Korea is contingent upon its complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearisation."

Trump had informed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that he would urge North Korea to promptly resolve its abductions of Japanese citizens, the White House said.

Abe's office said on Sunday that Trump and Abe highlighted the significance of Pyongyang's taking concrete steps towards denuclearisation.

Moon also had a phone call with Abe on Sunday and said he had discussed the abduction issue with Kim during the summit "in substantial detail," the Blue House spokesman said.

Pyongyang admitted in 2002 to kidnapping 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s to train spies. Five of them returned to Japan, but Tokyo suspects that hundreds more may have been taken.

"Moon relayed Abe's wish for a normalisation of bilateral ties to Kim based on the clearing of historical legacy issues, and that Kim expressed his willingness to talk to Japan at any time," the official said.

Most of the specific commitments outlined in the official declaration signed by Kim and Moon focused on inter-Korean relations and did not clear up the question of whether Pyongyang is willing to give up its arsenal of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

North Korea's state media on Saturday released the joint statement as part of a multi-page spread with more than 60 photos from the visit, lauding Friday's summit as a turning point for the peninsula.

It made rare mentions of the denuclearisation discussion but did not go into detail, instead highlighting the broad themes of peace, prosperity, and Korean unity.

'AMICABLE ATMOSPHERE'

"At the talks both sides had a candid and open-hearted exchange of views on the matters of mutual concern including the issues of improving the North-South relations, ensuring peace on the Korean Peninsula and the denuclearisation of the peninsula," KCNA said.

It added that the night wrapped up with a dinner that had an "amicable atmosphere overflowing with feelings of blood relatives."

The declaration earned guarded but optimistic praise from world leaders, including Trump, who said on Friday that only time would tell, but that he did not think Kim was "playing."

"It's never gone this far. This enthusiasm for them wanting to make a deal ... We are going to hopefully make a deal."

Still, Trump said he would maintain pressure on North Korea and "not repeat the mistakes of past administrations."

In Sydney on Saturday, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull praised Trump's negotiations on North Korea and said he helped bring the two Korean leaders together.

"I have given him that credit because Donald Trump has taken a very, very strong, hard line on the denuclearisation issue and he has been able to bring in the support of the global community and, in particular, China," Turnbull told a televised news conference, referring to "overwhelming" economic ties between China and North Korea.

"What we've now got to do is not relent on the economic pressure until that goal is achieved," he said.

Australia will send a military aircraft to monitor North Korean vessels suspected of transferring illicit goods in defiance of U.N. sanctions, he said.

Iran, facing a possible U.S. exit from its nuclear deal with world powers, welcomed the inter-Korean summit, but said Washington was not a "qualified" partner in the negotiations.

"Iran sees (the summit) as an important step in the right direction that can contribute to lasting regional and global peace and security," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by state media.

"The U.S. government is not a credible actor, doesn't comply with its international obligations and doesn't qualify to take part in arrangements between countries," Qasemi added.

An editorial in the official China Daily on Saturday said denuclearisation could end hostilities between the two sides and "usher in a new era of development" on the peninsula, but noted Friday's declaration lacked a plan for achieving the goal.

"The denuclearisation of the peninsula, written into the Panmunjom Declaration, is only a prospect with no specific plan. That is because such specifics can be reached only between the US and North Korea, and South Korea has only limited authority to bargain," it said.

On Friday, Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in vowed "complete denuclearisation" of the Korean peninsula in the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade, but the declaration did not include concrete steps to reach that goal

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un plans to invite experts and journalists from the United States and South Korea when the country closes its nuclear test site in May, Seoul officials said on Sunday, as US President Trump pressed for total denuclearisation ahead of his own unprecedented meeting with Kim. On Friday, Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in vowed "complete denuclearisation" of the Korean peninsula in the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade, but the declaration did not include concrete steps to reach that goal. North Korea's state media had said before the summit that Pyongyang would immediately suspend nuclear and missile tests, scrap its nuclear test site and instead pursue economic growth and peace. Kim told Moon that he would soon invite the experts and journalists to "open to the international community" the dismantling of the facilities, the Blue House said. "The United States, though inherently hostile to North Korea, will get to know once our talk begins that I am not the kind of person who will use nuclear weapons against the South or the United States across the Pacific," Moon's press secretary Yoon Young-chan quoted Kim as saying. "There is no reason for us to possess nuclear weapons while suffering difficulties if mutual trust with the United States is built through frequent meetings from now on, and an end to the war and non-aggression are promised." Kim said there were two additional, larger tunnels that remain "in a very good condition" at the Punggye-ri test site beyond the existing one, which experts have said had collapsed after repeated explosions, rendering much of the site useless. Kim's promise shows his willingness to "preemptively and actively" respond to inspection efforts to be made as part of the denuclearisation process, Yoon said. To facilitate future cross-border cooperation, Kim pledged to scrap the unique time zone Pyongyang created in 2015. He said the North would move its clocks forward 30 minutes to be in sync with the South, nine hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. Kim also reaffirmed that he would not use military force against the South and raised the need for an institutional mechanism to prevent unintended escalations, Yoon said. NEXT STEPS Late Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump told Moon in a phone call that he was pleased the leaders of the two Koreas reaffirmed the goal of complete denuclearisation during their summit, Seoul officials said on Sunday. Moon and Trump agreed on the need for an early summit between Trump and Kim, and explored two to three potential locations, one of which Moon suggested, the Blue House said. The candidates for the venue did not include North Korea, the United States or the demilitarised zone dividing the two Koreas, a Blue House official told reporters, declining to elaborate. A senior U.S. official has said Singapore is being considered as a possible venue for the Trump-Kim summit. "Trump said it was good news for not only the two Koreas but the whole world that they affirmed the goal of realizing a nuclear-free Korean peninsula through a complete denuclearisation," Blue House spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told a separate briefing. "Moon told Trump that Kim said he and Trump would get along with each other, ... and Trump was looking forward to talks with Kim and there would be a very good result." Trump, who called the 75-minute chat "a long and very good talk" on Twitter, said his summit with Kim would take place sometime in the next three to four weeks. "It's going be a very important meeting, the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula," he said at a campaign rally in Washington, Michigan, on Saturday. The White House said Trump and Moon during the call "emphasized that a peaceful and prosperous future for North Korea is contingent upon its complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearisation." Trump had informed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that he would urge North Korea to promptly resolve its abductions of Japanese citizens, the White House said. Abe's office said on Sunday that Trump and Abe highlighted the significance of Pyongyang's taking concrete steps towards denuclearisation. Moon also had a phone call with Abe on Sunday and said he had discussed the abduction issue with Kim during the summit "in substantial detail," the Blue House spokesman said. Pyongyang admitted in 2002 to kidnapping 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s to train spies. Five of them returned to Japan, but Tokyo suspects that hundreds more may have been taken. "Moon relayed Abe's wish for a normalisation of bilateral ties to Kim based on the clearing of historical legacy issues, and that Kim expressed his willingness to talk to Japan at any time," the official said. Most of the specific commitments outlined in the official declaration signed by Kim and Moon focused on inter-Korean relations and did not clear up the question of whether Pyongyang is willing to give up its arsenal of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. North Korea's state media on Saturday released the joint statement as part of a multi-page spread with more than 60 photos from the visit, lauding Friday's summit as a turning point for the peninsula. It made rare mentions of the denuclearisation discussion but did not go into detail, instead highlighting the broad themes of peace, prosperity, and Korean unity. 'AMICABLE ATMOSPHERE' "At the talks both sides had a candid and open-hearted exchange of views on the matters of mutual concern including the issues of improving the North-South relations, ensuring peace on the Korean Peninsula and the denuclearisation of the peninsula," KCNA said. It added that the night wrapped up with a dinner that had an "amicable atmosphere overflowing with feelings of blood relatives." The declaration earned guarded but optimistic praise from world leaders, including Trump, who said on Friday that only time would tell, but that he did not think Kim was "playing." "It's never gone this far. This enthusiasm for them wanting to make a deal ... We are going to hopefully make a deal." Still, Trump said he would maintain pressure on North Korea and "not repeat the mistakes of past administrations." In Sydney on Saturday, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull praised Trump's negotiations on North Korea and said he helped bring the two Korean leaders together. "I have given him that credit because Donald Trump has taken a very, very strong, hard line on the denuclearisation issue and he has been able to bring in the support of the global community and, in particular, China," Turnbull told a televised news conference, referring to "overwhelming" economic ties between China and North Korea. "What we've now got to do is not relent on the economic pressure until that goal is achieved," he said. Australia will send a military aircraft to monitor North Korean vessels suspected of transferring illicit goods in defiance of U.N. sanctions, he said. Iran, facing a possible U.S. exit from its nuclear deal with world powers, welcomed the inter-Korean summit, but said Washington was not a "qualified" partner in the negotiations. "Iran sees (the summit) as an important step in the right direction that can contribute to lasting regional and global peace and security," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by state media. "The U.S. government is not a credible actor, doesn't comply with its international obligations and doesn't qualify to take part in arrangements between countries," Qasemi added. An editorial in the official China Daily on Saturday said denuclearisation could end hostilities between the two sides and "usher in a new era of development" on the peninsula, but noted Friday's declaration lacked a plan for achieving the goal. "The denuclearisation of the peninsula, written into the Panmunjom Declaration, is only a prospect with no specific plan. That is because such specifics can be reached only between the US and North Korea, and South Korea has only limited authority to bargain," it said.

Kim to invite US experts for nuclear site shutdown as Trump presses for full denuclearisation

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that three or four possible dates were being considered for his landmark summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"We have a decision to be made. We have three and four dates. That includes five locations. That will be narrowed down," Trump said on Fox News.

Trump had previously said his much-anticipated meeting with Kim would take place in May or early June, within weeks of Friday's historic inter-Korean summit.

Earlier on April 17, President Trump had confirmed direct talks between the United States and North Korea. He also confirmed that his CIA chief Mike Pompeo took part in secret talks with Kim Jong-Un.

The tension-wracked peninsula has seen a dramatic diplomatic detente, with the nuclear-armed North last week announcing a moratorium on nuclear tests and long-range missile launches.

On April 10, Kim Jong-Un had publicly acknowledged the prospect of talks between the United States and Pyongyang for the first time.

If the talks go ahead, it would be the first time that a sitting US President would&nbsp;meet a North Korean leader.

(With inputs from PTI)

Trump had previously said his much-anticipated meeting with Kim would take place in May or early June, within weeks of Friday's historic inter-Korean summit.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that three or four possible dates were being considered for his landmark summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "We have a decision to be made. We have three and four dates. That includes five locations. That will be narrowed down," Trump said on Fox News. Trump had previously said his much-anticipated meeting with Kim would take place in May or early June, within weeks of Friday's historic inter-Korean summit. Earlier on April 17, President Trump had confirmed direct talks between the United States and North Korea. He also confirmed that his CIA chief Mike Pompeo took part in secret talks with Kim Jong-Un. The tension-wracked peninsula has seen a dramatic diplomatic detente, with the nuclear-armed North last week announcing a moratorium on nuclear tests and long-range missile launches. On April 10, Kim Jong-Un had publicly acknowledged the prospect of talks between the United States and Pyongyang for the first time. If the talks go ahead, it would be the first time that a sitting US President would meet a North Korean leader. (With inputs from PTI)

US president Donald Trump says 3 or 4 dates possible for Kim Jong Un summit

On Friday, the world will watch <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/south-koreas-moon-to-meet-north-koreas-kim-at-border-for-summit-132925">when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un</a> meets South Korean President Moon Jae-In in the Panmunjom village in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides both their countries.&nbsp;

Also keeping a watchful eye on this Inter Korean Summit will be India - a country whose role in bringing the Korean War to an end in 1953 was recognized internationally at that time with even United Nations observers having paid tributes to India's voice that had called for moderation to end the crisis.

And that's why it's important to recall another chapter in India's involvement in the Korean war which is relatively less known, almost forgotten - that of an Indian Army's medical unit which treated 2.2 lakh patients during the war and that of a Brigade Group which was instrumental in assisting in the repatriation or migration of 25,000 Prisoners of War.&nbsp;

Korea invaded South Korea in 1950 and the Korean War continued till 1953. And while it declined to get involved militarily in that conflict, India offered medical aid and deployed an Army Medical Unit in South Korea.

Indian Army 60th Parachute Field Ambulance Unit that served in South Korea had 627 personnel in all. It treated over 2.2 lakh patients including civilians during the Korean war.&nbsp;

No wonder, it earned laurels from the Korean people for its efforts. During its stint there, the 60th Parachute Field Ambulance Unit suffered three fatal and 23 non-fatal casualties.

Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel A.G. Rangaraj, the 60th Parachute Field Ambulance Unit disembarked at Pusan in November 1950 and was initially deployed at Pyongyang.&nbsp;

The Unit was then divided into two sub units. The first was the 'Forward Element' which was grouped with 27 British Brigade and the "Administrative Element" located at Daegu to assist the Korean Army Hospital and also treat civilians.

It was this "Forward Element" which was in the thick of action including a major airlift called "Op Tomahawk" with the 8th US Army in March 1953 in the area of Munsan.

When the Korean War finally ended with an Armistice agreement in July 1953, the members of the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission (NNRC) selected India to head this body to supervise the exchange of Prisoners of War (POWs).

India dispatched a Brigade Group having 5,230 personnel to Korea. This Brigade group was named Custodian Forces-India (CFI). It was then that 60th Indian Field Ambulance Unit was merged with the CFI as the latter took charge of over 25,000 Prisoners of War to assist in their repatriation.

The POWs who refused to be repatriated were then assisted in migration to neutral nations of their choice by the CFI. It's professional conduct won the CFI widespread respect among the Korean people.

During its stint there, the 60th Parachute Field Ambulance Unit suffered three fatal and 23 non-fatal casualties.

On Friday, the world will watch when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets South Korean President Moon Jae-In in the Panmunjom village in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides both their countries. Also keeping a watchful eye on this Inter Korean Summit will be India - a country whose role in bringing the Korean War to an end in 1953 was recognized internationally at that time with even United Nations observers having paid tributes to India's voice that had called for moderation to end the crisis. And that's why it's important to recall another chapter in India's involvement in the Korean war which is relatively less known, almost forgotten - that of an Indian Army's medical unit which treated 2.2 lakh patients during the war and that of a Brigade Group which was instrumental in assisting in the repatriation or migration of 25,000 Prisoners of War. Korea invaded South Korea in 1950 and the Korean War continued till 1953. And while it declined to get involved militarily in that conflict, India offered medical aid and deployed an Army Medical Unit in South Korea. Indian Army 60th Parachute Field Ambulance Unit that served in South Korea had 627 personnel in all. It treated over 2.2 lakh patients including civilians during the Korean war. No wonder, it earned laurels from the Korean people for its efforts. During its stint there, the 60th Parachute Field Ambulance Unit suffered three fatal and 23 non-fatal casualties. Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel A.G. Rangaraj, the 60th Parachute Field Ambulance Unit disembarked at Pusan in November 1950 and was initially deployed at Pyongyang. The Unit was then divided into two sub units. The first was the 'Forward Element' which was grouped with 27 British Brigade and the "Administrative Element" located at Daegu to assist the Korean Army Hospital and also treat civilians. It was this "Forward Element" which was in the thick of action including a major airlift called "Op Tomahawk" with the 8th US Army in March 1953 in the area of Munsan. When the Korean War finally ended with an Armistice agreement in July 1953, the members of the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission (NNRC) selected India to head this body to supervise the exchange of Prisoners of War (POWs). India dispatched a Brigade Group having 5,230 personnel to Korea. This Brigade group was named Custodian Forces-India (CFI). It was then that 60th Indian Field Ambulance Unit was merged with the CFI as the latter took charge of over 25,000 Prisoners of War to assist in their repatriation. The POWs who refused to be repatriated were then assisted in migration to neutral nations of their choice by the CFI. It's professional conduct won the CFI widespread respect among the Korean people.

On eve of inter-Korean summit, Indian Army's 'forgotten' role in Korean war

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited Chinese embassy in Pyongyang to express his sorrow to the bus crash incident occurred on Sunday, state media reported on Tuesday.

North's central news agency KCNA quoted Kim saying that "the unexpected accident brought bitter sorrow to his heart and that he couldn't control his grief at the thought of the bereaved families who lost their blood relatives".

On Sunday a bus plunged from a bridge in North Hwanghae province in North Korea leaving thirty-two Chinese tourists and four North Koreans dead.

Kim Jong-un also met Chinese ambassador Li Jinjun and later he visited crash survivors in hospital.

China is North Korea's most important economic, diplomatic and sole ally but the relations between both countries has been sored through time due to Pyongyang's numerous missile and nuclear tests.

Kim visiting crash survivors in hospital and expressing his sorrow is being observed by experts as an indication of how much seriousness North Korea is taking the accident.

News reports also cited Kim saying that his government would take follow-up measures to the accident with "utmost sincerity".

Kim Jong-un also visited Beijing to personally meet Chinese President Xi-Jinping in March. The March visit was a first known visit by Kim Jong-un outside North Korea borders since 2011.

Meanwhile, Kim Jong-un also made an announcement for closing down its nuclear test site ahead of the Korea-summit with South Korea President Moon Jae-In and will be followed by a planned face-to-face with US President Donald Trump.

&nbsp;

Four North Koreans were also killed in the crash

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited Chinese embassy in Pyongyang to express his sorrow to the bus crash incident occurred on Sunday, state media reported on Tuesday. North's central news agency KCNA quoted Kim saying that "the unexpected accident brought bitter sorrow to his heart and that he couldn't control his grief at the thought of the bereaved families who lost their blood relatives". On Sunday a bus plunged from a bridge in North Hwanghae province in North Korea leaving thirty-two Chinese tourists and four North Koreans dead. Kim Jong-un also met Chinese ambassador Li Jinjun and later he visited crash survivors in hospital. China is North Korea's most important economic, diplomatic and sole ally but the relations between both countries has been sored through time due to Pyongyang's numerous missile and nuclear tests. Kim visiting crash survivors in hospital and expressing his sorrow is being observed by experts as an indication of how much seriousness North Korea is taking the accident. News reports also cited Kim saying that his government would take follow-up measures to the accident with "utmost sincerity". Kim Jong-un also visited Beijing to personally meet Chinese President Xi-Jinping in March. The March visit was a first known visit by Kim Jong-un outside North Korea borders since 2011. Meanwhile, Kim Jong-un also made an announcement for closing down its nuclear test site ahead of the Korea-summit with South Korea President Moon Jae-In and will be followed by a planned face-to-face with US President Donald Trump.

North Korea's Kim Jong-un expresses 'bitter sorrow' over bus crash that killed 32 Chinese

South Korea halted the propaganda broadcasts it blares across the border at North Korea on Monday ahead of their first summit in a decade, as US&nbspPresident Donald Trump cautioned the nuclear crisis on the peninsula was a long way from being resolved.

North and South Korea are in the final stages of preparations for a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-In at the border truce village of Panmunjom on Friday.

Ahead of the summit, North Korea announced it would halt nuclear and missile tests and said it was scrapping its nuclear test site to instead pursue economic growth and peace.

“North Korea’s decision to freeze its nuclear program is a significant decision for the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,” South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a regular meeting at the Blue House on Monday.

“It is a green light that raises the chances of positive outcomes at the North’s summits with South Korea and the United States. If North Korea goes the path of complete denuclearization starting from this, then a bright future for North Korea can be guaranteed.”

The South’s propaganda broadcasts were stopped at midnight, the defense ministry said, without specifying whether they would resume after the Kim-Moon summit.

“We hope this decision will lead both Koreas to stop mutual criticism and propaganda against each other and also contribute in creating peace and a new beginning,” the South Korean defense ministry said about the decision to halt the broadcasts.

It is the first time in more than two years the South Korean broadcasts, which include a mixture of news, South Korean pop music and criticism of the North Korean regime, have been stopped.

North Korea has its own propaganda loudspeakers at the border, but a defense ministry official said he could not verify whether the North had stopped its broadcasts.

Caution

The inter-Korean talks and a planned meeting between Kim and Trump in the coming weeks have raised hopes of an easing in tensions that reached a crescendo last year amid a flurry of North Korean missile tests and its largest nuclear test.

After initially welcoming Pyongyang’s statement on halting nuclear and missile tests, Trump sounded a more cautious note on Sunday.

“We are a long way from conclusion on North Korea, maybe things will work out, and maybe they won’t - only time will tell,” Trump said on Twitter.

Still, South Korean companies with exposure to North Korea rallied after Pyongyang’s weekend announcement.

Shares of Good People (033340.KQ) and Shinwon Corp (009270.KS), which used to operate factories in North Korea’s Kaesong industrial region near the Demilitarized Zone, surged 8 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively.

China, North Korea’s main ally, also welcomed the North Korean announcement, but editorials in state-run media on Monday were tempered with notes of caution.

The China Daily, the official English-languages newspaper of the Chinese government, said the pledges conveyed the message that Kim will sit down for talks as the leader of a legitimate nuclear power.

“Negotiations about actual nuclear disarmament will likely prove arduous given such weapons are critical to Pyongyang’s sense of security. It will require ironclad security guarantees if it is to relinquish them.”

The Global Times, a hawkish tabloid newspaper run by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, said all parties “should cherish this hard-won state of affairs” and continue to make efforts toward peace and denuclearization.

“Washington should not regard North Korea’s halt to nuclear and missile tests as a result of its maximum pressure,” the Global Times wrote.

“It must be attributed to multiple factors, one of which is that Pyongyang has mastered certain advanced nuclear technologies and successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of more than 10,000 km.”

The United States, through the United Nations, has pursued a series of tightening sanctions on North Korea aimed at cutting its access to foreign currency.

Customs data on Monday showed China’s imports from North Korea fell 87 per cent in the first three months of the year, while exports dropped 46 per cent.

Tourism, dominated by Chinese visitors, remains a key export earner for North Korea. Chinese tourists have been involved in a major bus accident in North Korea and there are a large number of casualties, Chinese state media and the government said on Monday.

North and South Korea are in the final stages of preparations for a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-In at the border truce village of Panmunjom on Friday

South Korea halted the propaganda broadcasts it blares across the border at North Korea on Monday ahead of their first summit in a decade, as US&nbspPresident Donald Trump cautioned the nuclear crisis on the peninsula was a long way from being resolved. North and South Korea are in the final stages of preparations for a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-In at the border truce village of Panmunjom on Friday. Ahead of the summit, North Korea announced it would halt nuclear and missile tests and said it was scrapping its nuclear test site to instead pursue economic growth and peace. “North Korea’s decision to freeze its nuclear program is a significant decision for the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,” South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a regular meeting at the Blue House on Monday. “It is a green light that raises the chances of positive outcomes at the North’s summits with South Korea and the United States. If North Korea goes the path of complete denuclearization starting from this, then a bright future for North Korea can be guaranteed.” The South’s propaganda broadcasts were stopped at midnight, the defense ministry said, without specifying whether they would resume after the Kim-Moon summit. “We hope this decision will lead both Koreas to stop mutual criticism and propaganda against each other and also contribute in creating peace and a new beginning,” the South Korean defense ministry said about the decision to halt the broadcasts. It is the first time in more than two years the South Korean broadcasts, which include a mixture of news, South Korean pop music and criticism of the North Korean regime, have been stopped. North Korea has its own propaganda loudspeakers at the border, but a defense ministry official said he could not verify whether the North had stopped its broadcasts. Caution The inter-Korean talks and a planned meeting between Kim and Trump in the coming weeks have raised hopes of an easing in tensions that reached a crescendo last year amid a flurry of North Korean missile tests and its largest nuclear test. After initially welcoming Pyongyang’s statement on halting nuclear and missile tests, Trump sounded a more cautious note on Sunday. “We are a long way from conclusion on North Korea, maybe things will work out, and maybe they won’t - only time will tell,” Trump said on Twitter. Still, South Korean companies with exposure to North Korea rallied after Pyongyang’s weekend announcement. Shares of Good People (033340.KQ) and Shinwon Corp (009270.KS), which used to operate factories in North Korea’s Kaesong industrial region near the Demilitarized Zone, surged 8 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively. China, North Korea’s main ally, also welcomed the North Korean announcement, but editorials in state-run media on Monday were tempered with notes of caution. The China Daily, the official English-languages newspaper of the Chinese government, said the pledges conveyed the message that Kim will sit down for talks as the leader of a legitimate nuclear power. “Negotiations about actual nuclear disarmament will likely prove arduous given such weapons are critical to Pyongyang’s sense of security. It will require ironclad security guarantees if it is to relinquish them.” The Global Times, a hawkish tabloid newspaper run by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, said all parties “should cherish this hard-won state of affairs” and continue to make efforts toward peace and denuclearization. “Washington should not regard North Korea’s halt to nuclear and missile tests as a result of its maximum pressure,” the Global Times wrote. “It must be attributed to multiple factors, one of which is that Pyongyang has mastered certain advanced nuclear technologies and successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of more than 10,000 km.” The United States, through the United Nations, has pursued a series of tightening sanctions on North Korea aimed at cutting its access to foreign currency. Customs data on Monday showed China’s imports from North Korea fell 87 per cent in the first three months of the year, while exports dropped 46 per cent. Tourism, dominated by Chinese visitors, remains a key export earner for North Korea. Chinese tourists have been involved in a major bus accident in North Korea and there are a large number of casualties, Chinese state media and the government said on Monday.

South Korea switches off propaganda broadcasts, Moon upbeat on North Korea nuclear halt

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un today attended the first concert in Pyongyang for over a decade by South Korean entertainers, including a K-pop girlband, the latest gesture of reconciliation before a rare inter-Korean summit.

The visit, described by many as a cultural charm-offensive by the South, came as a diplomatic thaw quickens on the peninsula after months of military tensions.

The 120-member group -- 11 musical acts as well as dancers, technicians and martial artists -- gave one concert today with another set for Tuesday.

Kim and his wife, a former singer herself, came to watch today's show, making him the first leader of the North to attend a concert by South Korean performers.

Kim shook hands and took photos with the Seoul stars backstage, saying inter-Korean cultural events should be held more often and suggesting another event in the South Korean capital this autumn, pool reports said.

The young couple were seen clapping their hands during the two-hour event -- also attended by Kim's powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, and ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam.

"He (Kim Jong Un) showed great interest in the songs and lyrics (of South Korean singers) during the concert," Do Jong-hwan, Seoul's culture chief and the head of the delegation, told reporters.

The South's taekwondo athletes also staged a performance before an audience of 2,300 in Pyongyang on Sunday ahead of a joint display of the Korean martial art with the North's practitioners on Monday.

The rapprochement was triggered by the South's Winter Olympics, to which the North's leader Kim Jong Un sent athletes, cheerleaders and his powerful sister as an envoy.

A North Korean art troupe, the 140-strong Samjiyon Orchestra, staged two performances in South Korea in February to celebrate the Games.

Kim followed up by agreeing to a summit with the South's President Moon Jae-in, and offering a face-to-face meet with US President Donald Trump. Kim also met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last week during his first overseas trip.

The inter-Korean summit, the third after meetings in 2000 and 2007, will be held on April 27. No date has been set for the US-North Korean summit although it is expected before the end of May.

In another sign of eased tensions, an annual US-South Korean military exercise which got under way in the South Sunday will last for just one month compared to some two months normally.

This year's drills feature fewer strategic weapons such as a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, Seoul's military has said. The deployment of such powerful weaponry during past drills has frequently drawn an angry response from the North.

Today's concert to a packed audience at the elaborately decorated 1,500-seat East Pyongyang Grand Theatre ended with a standing ovation after a finale in which all the stars appeared on stage to sing a song about unification.

One of the most closely watched acts was Red Velvet, part of the South's hugely popular K-pop phenomenon that has taken audiences in Asia and beyond by storm in recent decades.

The five-member girlband -- known for its signature K-pop mix of upbeat electronic music, stylish fashion and high-voltage choreography -- performed two of their hits, "Bad Boy" and "Red Flavour".

Joy, one of the five members, missed the trip to Pyongyang due to her TV drama shooting schedule.

"The North's audience applauded to our performance much louder than we expected and even sang along to our songs... It was a big relief," band member Yeri told reporters.

"I told myself, 'let's do our best even if there's no response (from the audience)... But they showed so much reaction," added a member called Wendy.

Another member, Seulgi, appeared red-eyed as she bid farewell to the audience at the end of the concert, apparently overcome with emotion.

Despite the North's isolation and strict curbs on unauthorised foreign culture, enforced with prison terms, K-pop and Seoul's TV shows have become increasingly popular there thanks to flash drives smuggled across the border with China.

The emcee of the concert was a popular member of K-pop girlband Girls' Generation, Seohyun, who had performed with the visiting Pyongyang singers during their Seoul concert in February.

Legendary South Korean singer Cho Yong-pil, who held a solo sell-out concert in Pyongyang in 2005, was another star of the show.

Kim's late father and longtime ruler, Kim Jong Il, was known to be a fan of the 68-year-old Cho.

Another famous singer, Choi Jin-hee, also performed for the fourth time in the North and sang "Maze of Love" -- a pan-peninsula hit and another of the late Kim's favourites.

But not all onlookers were receptive to the K-pop offensive.

During the taekwondo event, a previously raptured audience member turned stone-faced when the athletes showcased a performance combining K-pop dance and Taekwondo routines to a hit song of ultra-popular boyband BTS.

The stiffened crowd refused to respond to the athletes who motioned them to clap their hands to "Fire" -- an intense electro-dance score peppered with rapid-fire rap delivered in both Korean and English.&nbsp;

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un today attended the first concert in Pyongyang for over a decade by South Korean entertainers, including a K-pop girlband, the latest gesture of reconciliation before a rare inter-Korean summit

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un today attended the first concert in Pyongyang for over a decade by South Korean entertainers, including a K-pop girlband, the latest gesture of reconciliation before a rare inter-Korean summit. The visit, described by many as a cultural charm-offensive by the South, came as a diplomatic thaw quickens on the peninsula after months of military tensions. The 120-member group -- 11 musical acts as well as dancers, technicians and martial artists -- gave one concert today with another set for Tuesday. Kim and his wife, a former singer herself, came to watch today's show, making him the first leader of the North to attend a concert by South Korean performers. Kim shook hands and took photos with the Seoul stars backstage, saying inter-Korean cultural events should be held more often and suggesting another event in the South Korean capital this autumn, pool reports said. The young couple were seen clapping their hands during the two-hour event -- also attended by Kim's powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, and ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam. "He (Kim Jong Un) showed great interest in the songs and lyrics (of South Korean singers) during the concert," Do Jong-hwan, Seoul's culture chief and the head of the delegation, told reporters. The South's taekwondo athletes also staged a performance before an audience of 2,300 in Pyongyang on Sunday ahead of a joint display of the Korean martial art with the North's practitioners on Monday. The rapprochement was triggered by the South's Winter Olympics, to which the North's leader Kim Jong Un sent athletes, cheerleaders and his powerful sister as an envoy. A North Korean art troupe, the 140-strong Samjiyon Orchestra, staged two performances in South Korea in February to celebrate the Games. Kim followed up by agreeing to a summit with the South's President Moon Jae-in, and offering a face-to-face meet with US President Donald Trump. Kim also met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last week during his first overseas trip. The inter-Korean summit, the third after meetings in 2000 and 2007, will be held on April 27. No date has been set for the US-North Korean summit although it is expected before the end of May. In another sign of eased tensions, an annual US-South Korean military exercise which got under way in the South Sunday will last for just one month compared to some two months normally. This year's drills feature fewer strategic weapons such as a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, Seoul's military has said. The deployment of such powerful weaponry during past drills has frequently drawn an angry response from the North. Today's concert to a packed audience at the elaborately decorated 1,500-seat East Pyongyang Grand Theatre ended with a standing ovation after a finale in which all the stars appeared on stage to sing a song about unification. One of the most closely watched acts was Red Velvet, part of the South's hugely popular K-pop phenomenon that has taken audiences in Asia and beyond by storm in recent decades. The five-member girlband -- known for its signature K-pop mix of upbeat electronic music, stylish fashion and high-voltage choreography -- performed two of their hits, "Bad Boy" and "Red Flavour". Joy, one of the five members, missed the trip to Pyongyang due to her TV drama shooting schedule. "The North's audience applauded to our performance much louder than we expected and even sang along to our songs... It was a big relief," band member Yeri told reporters. "I told myself, 'let's do our best even if there's no response (from the audience)... But they showed so much reaction," added a member called Wendy. Another member, Seulgi, appeared red-eyed as she bid farewell to the audience at the end of the concert, apparently overcome with emotion. Despite the North's isolation and strict curbs on unauthorised foreign culture, enforced with prison terms, K-pop and Seoul's TV shows have become increasingly popular there thanks to flash drives smuggled across the border with China. The emcee of the concert was a popular member of K-pop girlband Girls' Generation, Seohyun, who had performed with the visiting Pyongyang singers during their Seoul concert in February. Legendary South Korean singer Cho Yong-pil, who held a solo sell-out concert in Pyongyang in 2005, was another star of the show. Kim's late father and longtime ruler, Kim Jong Il, was known to be a fan of the 68-year-old Cho. Another famous singer, Choi Jin-hee, also performed for the fourth time in the North and sang "Maze of Love" -- a pan-peninsula hit and another of the late Kim's favourites. But not all onlookers were receptive to the K-pop offensive. During the taekwondo event, a previously raptured audience member turned stone-faced when the athletes showcased a performance combining K-pop dance and Taekwondo routines to a hit song of ultra-popular boyband BTS. The stiffened crowd refused to respond to the athletes who motioned them to clap their hands to "Fire" -- an intense electro-dance score peppered with rapid-fire rap delivered in both Korean and English.

North Korea's Kim attends South Korea concert in latest reconciliatory move

North Korean leader&nbsp;Kim&nbsp;Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju were among the hundreds in Pyongyang on Sunday (April 1) watching South Korean K-pop singers perform in the North for the first time in more than a decade as tensions between the two countries thaw.

It was the first time a North Korean leader had attended a South Korean performance in the capital.&nbsp;Kim&nbsp;Jong Un was seen clapping in tune to some of the songs and later took photographs with the performers after the show.

Sunday's two-hour concert in Pyongyang, along with a separate taekwondo performance earlier in the day, comes as South Korea's engagement with North Korea has continued to grow since&nbsp;KimJong Un expressed his willingness for more contact between the two countries.

Sunday's concert was held under the title "Spring is Coming" at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre, performed by an elite lineup of 11 South Korean artists including veteran vocalists Cho Yong-pil, Lee Sun-hee, rock star Yoon Do-hyun, singer Baek Ji-young as well as K-pop girl band Red Velvet.

The same South Korean singers will hold a joint concert with North Korean performers on Tuesday (April 3) at the Ryukyung Chung Ju Yung Gymnasium, a joint project between the North and South named after Hyundai Group billionaire founder Chung Ju-yung who had long advocated inter-Korean cultural and economic exchange.

Amid thawing ties between the rivals after more than a year of heightened tensions over the North`s nuclear program, the visit came as a gesture of reconciliation before the peninsula after months of military tensions

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju were among the hundreds in Pyongyang on Sunday (April 1) watching South Korean K-pop singers perform in the North for the first time in more than a decade as tensions between the two countries thaw. It was the first time a North Korean leader had attended a South Korean performance in the capital. Kim Jong Un was seen clapping in tune to some of the songs and later took photographs with the performers after the show. Sunday's two-hour concert in Pyongyang, along with a separate taekwondo performance earlier in the day, comes as South Korea's engagement with North Korea has continued to grow since KimJong Un expressed his willingness for more contact between the two countries. Sunday's concert was held under the title "Spring is Coming" at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre, performed by an elite lineup of 11 South Korean artists including veteran vocalists Cho Yong-pil, Lee Sun-hee, rock star Yoon Do-hyun, singer Baek Ji-young as well as K-pop girl band Red Velvet. The same South Korean singers will hold a joint concert with North Korean performers on Tuesday (April 3) at the Ryukyung Chung Ju Yung Gymnasium, a joint project between the North and South named after Hyundai Group billionaire founder Chung Ju-yung who had long advocated inter-Korean cultural and economic exchange.

Kim attends South Korean performance by K-pop stars in Pyongyang

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un has met Olympics chief Thomas Bach in Pyongyang, thanking him for helping to bring about a "dramatic thawing" of tensions on the Korean peninsula, the country's state media said Saturday.

Last month's Winter Olympics in South Korea triggered a fast-moving rapprochement that will see Kim sit down with the South's President Moon Jae-in in late April - with a US summit with President Donald Trump planned for May.

Bach arrived in the country on Thursday and his visit, which concluded Saturday, was the result of an invitation extended by Pyongyang in January.

The isolated, nuclear-armed regime rarely hosts foreign dignitaries but recent weeks have seen a flurry of diplomacy, with Kim making his first foreign trip as leader to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and inviting him to visit Pyongyang.

Kim told Bach that the Olympics -- which saw competitors from the two Koreas march together at the opening ceremony and field a joint women's ice hockey team -- "opened a new chapter of concord between the north and the south", the official KCNA news agency said.

"He said that the once frozen north-south relations greeted a dramatic thawing season with the Olympics as a momentum and it was totally attributable to the efforts of the IOC which offered an opportunity and paved a path for it," KCNA reported.

The two men held discussions about the development of sport in the North and attended a women`s football match.&nbsp

North and South Korea plan to hold a summit on April 27.

Trump is then due to meet Kim before the end of May for talks on Pyongyang`s denuclearisation.

Bach has hailed the reconciliatory mood, saying previously that the Olympic spirit "brought two sides together" and the two neighbours sent a "powerful message of peace" to the world.

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Last month's Winter Olympics in South Korea triggered a fast-moving rapprochement that will see Kim sit down with the South's President Moon Jae-in in late April - with a US summit with President Donald Trump planned for May

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un has met Olympics chief Thomas Bach in Pyongyang, thanking him for helping to bring about a "dramatic thawing" of tensions on the Korean peninsula, the country's state media said Saturday. Last month's Winter Olympics in South Korea triggered a fast-moving rapprochement that will see Kim sit down with the South's President Moon Jae-in in late April - with a US summit with President Donald Trump planned for May. Bach arrived in the country on Thursday and his visit, which concluded Saturday, was the result of an invitation extended by Pyongyang in January. The isolated, nuclear-armed regime rarely hosts foreign dignitaries but recent weeks have seen a flurry of diplomacy, with Kim making his first foreign trip as leader to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and inviting him to visit Pyongyang. Kim told Bach that the Olympics -- which saw competitors from the two Koreas march together at the opening ceremony and field a joint women's ice hockey team -- "opened a new chapter of concord between the north and the south", the official KCNA news agency said. "He said that the once frozen north-south relations greeted a dramatic thawing season with the Olympics as a momentum and it was totally attributable to the efforts of the IOC which offered an opportunity and paved a path for it," KCNA reported. The two men held discussions about the development of sport in the North and attended a women`s football match. North and South Korea plan to hold a summit on April 27. Trump is then due to meet Kim before the end of May for talks on Pyongyang`s denuclearisation. Bach has hailed the reconciliatory mood, saying previously that the Olympic spirit "brought two sides together" and the two neighbours sent a "powerful message of peace" to the world.

North Korea's Kim meets IOC chief in Pyongyang

North and South Korea will hold their first summit in more than a decade on April 27, South Korean officials said on Thursday, after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged his commitment to denuclearisation as tensions ease between the old foes.

South Korean government officials announced the date of the summit after holding high-level talks with their North Korean counterparts on Thursday.

The two Koreas had agreed earlier this month to hold such a summit at the border truce village of Panmunjom when South Korean President Moon Jae-in sent a delegation to Pyongyang to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Thursday's talks were the first between the two Koreas since the delegation returned from the North.

A South Korean unification ministry official told reporters the two Koreas would hold a working-level meeting on April 4 to discuss details for the summit, such as staffing support, security and news releases.

North and South Korea have experienced a significant easing in tensions since the Winter Olympics in the South in February. They are technically still at war after the 1950-53 conflict ended with a ceasefire, not a truce.

Kim is also scheduled to meet US&nbspPresident Donald Trump some time in May to discuss denuclearisation, although a time and place have not been set for that summit.

Kim met Chinese President Xi Jinping in a surprise visit to Beijing this week, his first trip outside the isolated North since he came to power in 2011.

Even more surprising was Kim's pledge to denuclearise the Korean summit. That commitment was reported by Chinese state media, although North Korea's official media made no mention of it, or Kim's anticipated meeting with Trump.

Trump and Kim had exchanged threats and insults in recent months. The US&nbspleader made the equally surprising announcement earlier this month that he was prepared to meet Kim to discuss the crisis over Pyongyang's development of nuclear weapons capable of hitting the Unite States.

The North Korean leader's engagement with the international community has sparked speculation that he may try to meet other leaders. Japan's Asahi newspaper said on Thursday Japan had sounded out the North Korean government about a bilateral summit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping promised Beijing would uphold its friendship with North Korea after his meeting with Kim.

Trump wrote on Twitter he had received a message from Xi on Tuesday night that his meeting with Kim "went very well" and that Kim looked forward to meeting the US&nbsppresident.

This will be their first summit in over a decade. The two countries are still technically at war

North and South Korea will hold their first summit in more than a decade on April 27, South Korean officials said on Thursday, after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged his commitment to denuclearisation as tensions ease between the old foes. South Korean government officials announced the date of the summit after holding high-level talks with their North Korean counterparts on Thursday. The two Koreas had agreed earlier this month to hold such a summit at the border truce village of Panmunjom when South Korean President Moon Jae-in sent a delegation to Pyongyang to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Thursday's talks were the first between the two Koreas since the delegation returned from the North. A South Korean unification ministry official told reporters the two Koreas would hold a working-level meeting on April 4 to discuss details for the summit, such as staffing support, security and news releases. North and South Korea have experienced a significant easing in tensions since the Winter Olympics in the South in February. They are technically still at war after the 1950-53 conflict ended with a ceasefire, not a truce. Kim is also scheduled to meet US&nbspPresident Donald Trump some time in May to discuss denuclearisation, although a time and place have not been set for that summit. Kim met Chinese President Xi Jinping in a surprise visit to Beijing this week, his first trip outside the isolated North since he came to power in 2011. Even more surprising was Kim's pledge to denuclearise the Korean summit. That commitment was reported by Chinese state media, although North Korea's official media made no mention of it, or Kim's anticipated meeting with Trump. Trump and Kim had exchanged threats and insults in recent months. The US&nbspleader made the equally surprising announcement earlier this month that he was prepared to meet Kim to discuss the crisis over Pyongyang's development of nuclear weapons capable of hitting the Unite States. The North Korean leader's engagement with the international community has sparked speculation that he may try to meet other leaders. Japan's Asahi newspaper said on Thursday Japan had sounded out the North Korean government about a bilateral summit. Chinese President Xi Jinping promised Beijing would uphold its friendship with North Korea after his meeting with Kim. Trump wrote on Twitter he had received a message from Xi on Tuesday night that his meeting with Kim "went very well" and that Kim looked forward to meeting the US&nbsppresident.

North, South Korea to hold summit on April 27

Japan has sounded out the North Korean government about a bilateral summit, and Pyongyang has discussed the possibility of a leaders' meeting with Japan, Japan's Asahi newspaper said on Thursday.

The government of Kim Jong Un has informed leaders of North Korea's ruling Korean Workers Party of the possibility of a summit with Japan, the newspaper said, citing an unidentified North Korean source and briefing papers.

"The Japanese government has expressed a wish to host a leaders meeting, via the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan," or Chongryon, Pyongyang's de facto embassy in Japan, the Asahi quoted the North Korean briefing papers as saying.

The Japanese government said it had been in touch with the North but declined to offer specific comment on the report.

"We have been communicating with North Korea through various occasions and means such as a route via our embassy in Beijing, but I would like to refrain from going into specifics," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a regular news conference.

A Chongryon spokesman in Tokyo declined to comment on the Asahi report.

A Japanese government source told Reuters in mid-March that Japan was considering seeking a summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Kim to discuss Japanese citizens abducted by North Korean agents decades ago.

The Asahi said in an article from Seoul Kim's government had explained its bilateral diplomatic plans for South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, in that order.

Kim met President Xi Jinping in China this week, his first trip abroad since taking over as North Korean leader in 2011. Summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump are being planned for April and May, respectively.

The North Korean briefing papers cite the possibility of a Japan summit in early June, the Asahi said.

Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono left open the possibility that Abe might meet Kim at some point. Kono said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday Japan was closely watching preparations for the North-South Korean summit and the Trump-Kim meeting.

A Japanese ruling party lawmaker said the outlook for an Abe-Kim summit depended on how the earlier summits played out. "There are stages and barriers," he told Reuters. "In particular, there's no guarantee Trump-Kim talks will go well."

The Asahi quoted another unidentified source as saying North Korea's "dialogue partner on security issues is America" but that the country "can only hope for large-scale financial assistance from Japan".

North Korea hopes to get $20 billion to $50 billion in aid from Japan if it normalises relations, the newspaper said. However, it said the briefing papers offered no specifics about steps to normalise bilateral relations, as agreed in 2002.

Those steps include resolving the abductee issue, as well as Pyongyang's missile and nuclear weapons development.

North Korea admitted in 2002 it had kidnapped 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s to train spies, and five of them returned to Japan. Tokyo suspects that hundreds more may have been taken.

The Japanese government said it had been in touch with the North but declined to offer specific comment on the report

Japan has sounded out the North Korean government about a bilateral summit, and Pyongyang has discussed the possibility of a leaders' meeting with Japan, Japan's Asahi newspaper said on Thursday. The government of Kim Jong Un has informed leaders of North Korea's ruling Korean Workers Party of the possibility of a summit with Japan, the newspaper said, citing an unidentified North Korean source and briefing papers. "The Japanese government has expressed a wish to host a leaders meeting, via the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan," or Chongryon, Pyongyang's de facto embassy in Japan, the Asahi quoted the North Korean briefing papers as saying. The Japanese government said it had been in touch with the North but declined to offer specific comment on the report. "We have been communicating with North Korea through various occasions and means such as a route via our embassy in Beijing, but I would like to refrain from going into specifics," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a regular news conference. A Chongryon spokesman in Tokyo declined to comment on the Asahi report. A Japanese government source told Reuters in mid-March that Japan was considering seeking a summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Kim to discuss Japanese citizens abducted by North Korean agents decades ago. The Asahi said in an article from Seoul Kim's government had explained its bilateral diplomatic plans for South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, in that order. Kim met President Xi Jinping in China this week, his first trip abroad since taking over as North Korean leader in 2011. Summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump are being planned for April and May, respectively. The North Korean briefing papers cite the possibility of a Japan summit in early June, the Asahi said. Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono left open the possibility that Abe might meet Kim at some point. Kono said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday Japan was closely watching preparations for the North-South Korean summit and the Trump-Kim meeting. A Japanese ruling party lawmaker said the outlook for an Abe-Kim summit depended on how the earlier summits played out. "There are stages and barriers," he told Reuters. "In particular, there's no guarantee Trump-Kim talks will go well." The Asahi quoted another unidentified source as saying North Korea's "dialogue partner on security issues is America" but that the country "can only hope for large-scale financial assistance from Japan". North Korea hopes to get $20 billion to $50 billion in aid from Japan if it normalises relations, the newspaper said. However, it said the briefing papers offered no specifics about steps to normalise bilateral relations, as agreed in 2002. Those steps include resolving the abductee issue, as well as Pyongyang's missile and nuclear weapons development. North Korea admitted in 2002 it had kidnapped 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s to train spies, and five of them returned to Japan. Tokyo suspects that hundreds more may have been taken.

Japan offers North Korea summit, Pyongyang discussing meeting with Japan: Report

Japan is considering a summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, local media reported, as diplomatic efforts to engage Pyongyang ramp up.

The reports come after the surprise announcement that US President Donald Trump plans his own talks with the North Korean leader, part of fast-paced diplomatic developments following an Olympic detente.

However, there have been no public proposals of talks by either Pyongyang or Tokyo.&nbsp;

Japan&#39;s Kyodo news agency reported a potential Abe-Kim summit late Tuesday, citing unnamed government sources who said the talks could be part of a new approach by Tokyo to dealing with the North.

Hours later, Jiji Press reported a similar story, saying Tokyo fears being left behind in dealing with the North if talks proceed between the isolated nation and South Korea and Washington without Japan&#39;s involvement.

&nbsp;A&nbsp;foreign ministry spokeswoman said she could not confirm any concrete plans for a summit.

But she added &quot;we will be studying our policies from the viewpoint of what is most effective&quot; to resolve the issues of North Korea&#39;s nuclear and missile programmes as well as the abduction of Japanese citizens by Pyongyang.

Earlier this week, South Korean envoy Suh Hoon visited Tokyo to brief Japan&#39;s leadership on the fast-moving diplomatic process that saw an announcement last week of a historic US-North Korea summit to discuss Pyongyang&#39;s denuclearisation.

Suh, the chief of South Korea&#39;s National Intelligence Service, on Tuesday met with Abe but it was unclear if he brought a message from the North Korean leader to propose a summit with Japan.

Media reports and experts say Tokyo fears it may be left out of developments around North Korea, and worries that the issue of abducted Japanese citizens is being sidelined.

But the possibility of an Abe-Kim summit also comes as the Japanese premier faces a growing scandal at home over the sale of government land to one of his supporters, and an apparent cover-up of the deal by the finance ministry.

Abe rose to political prominence on his calls for a tough line on North Korea, particularly over its abductions of Japanese citizens.

Japan, a close US ally in the region, is in the &nbsp;firing line of North Korean missiles and saw two fly over its territory in 2017, sparking outrage and lifting tensions to fever pitch.

The last Japanese prime minister to meet a North Korean leader was Junichiro Koizumi, who met Kim&#39;s father Kim Jung Il in Pyongyang in 2004.

Japan is considering a summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un

Japan is considering a summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, local media reported, as diplomatic efforts to engage Pyongyang ramp up. The reports come after the surprise announcement that US President Donald Trump plans his own talks with the North Korean leader, part of fast-paced diplomatic developments following an Olympic detente. However, there have been no public proposals of talks by either Pyongyang or Tokyo. Japan's Kyodo news agency reported a potential Abe-Kim summit late Tuesday, citing unnamed government sources who said the talks could be part of a new approach by Tokyo to dealing with the North. Hours later, Jiji Press reported a similar story, saying Tokyo fears being left behind in dealing with the North if talks proceed between the isolated nation and South Korea and Washington without Japan's involvement. A foreign ministry spokeswoman said she could not confirm any concrete plans for a summit. But she added "we will be studying our policies from the viewpoint of what is most effective" to resolve the issues of North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes as well as the abduction of Japanese citizens by Pyongyang. Earlier this week, South Korean envoy Suh Hoon visited Tokyo to brief Japan's leadership on the fast-moving diplomatic process that saw an announcement last week of a historic US-North Korea summit to discuss Pyongyang's denuclearisation. Suh, the chief of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, on Tuesday met with Abe but it was unclear if he brought a message from the North Korean leader to propose a summit with Japan. Media reports and experts say Tokyo fears it may be left out of developments around North Korea, and worries that the issue of abducted Japanese citizens is being sidelined. But the possibility of an Abe-Kim summit also comes as the Japanese premier faces a growing scandal at home over the sale of government land to one of his supporters, and an apparent cover-up of the deal by the finance ministry. Abe rose to political prominence on his calls for a tough line on North Korea, particularly over its abductions of Japanese citizens. Japan, a close US ally in the region, is in the firing line of North Korean missiles and saw two fly over its territory in 2017, sparking outrage and lifting tensions to fever pitch. The last Japanese prime minister to meet a North Korean leader was Junichiro Koizumi, who met Kim's father Kim Jung Il in Pyongyang in 2004.

Japan's Abe weighing talks with North Korea's Kim: Reports

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump will not meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un unless Pyongyang takes &quot;concrete actions,&quot; the White House said on Friday as it faced criticism for agreeing to talks that would give North Korea international legitimacy.

&quot;The president will not have the meeting without seeing concrete steps and concrete actions take place by North Korea, so the president will actually be getting something,&quot; White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told a news briefing.

Sanders did not specify what actions North Korea needed to take, and a White House official later said she was not intending to set new conditions for talks with Kim.

But the comments were a sign that an end to a standoff between the two countries over North Korea&#39;s nuclear weapon program is not imminent.

The United States has long said it wants any talks to aim at Pyongyang abandoning its nuclear weapons and missile programs.

Hopes for a breakthrough with North Korea rose on Thursday when Trump said he was prepared to hold an unprecedented meeting with Kim.

The two leaders prompted jitters around the world last year as they exchanged bellicose insults over the North&#39;s attempts to develop a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States. Pyongyang has pursued its nuclear program in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

But tension eased around last month&#39;s Winter Olympics in South Korea, laying the groundwork for what would be the first meeting between leaders from North Korea and the United States, and the biggest foreign policy gamble for Trump since he took office in January last year.

The head of South Korea&#39;s National Security Office, Chung Eui-yong, speaking in Washington on Thursday after briefing Trump about a meeting South Korean officials held with Kim this week, said the US&nbsp;president had agreed to meet the North Korean leader by May in response to an invitation from Kim.

Kim had &quot;committed to denuclearization&quot; and to suspending nuclear and missile tests, Chung said.

Buying time?

A senior State Department official said the talks would likely only be a preliminary discussion about holding future negotiations.

&quot;The expectation is that the talks would lead to a discussion around a conclusion that we&#39;re ready to engage in negotiations,&quot; the official said.

Trump&#39;s sudden decision to meet with Kim stunned even people in his own administration.

Sanders&#39; comments seemed aimed at criticism in the United States that Trump took a misstep by agreeing to talks - thus giving Pyongyang the international legitimacy it seeks - but without earning any big concessions from the North.

&quot;The Administration must go into any meeting with a plan to ensure that negotiations with Kim Jong-un produce real results, not a photo op that lends legitimacy to North Korea&rsquo;s murderous regime,&rdquo; US&nbsp;Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat who is vice chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, said in a statement.

Some US&nbsp;officials and experts worry North Korea could buy time to build up and refine its nuclear arsenal if it drags out talks with Washington.

A White House official said Trump remained committed to a meeting with Kim based on the conditions laid out by South Korea on Thursday: that Kim is committed to denuclearization, will refrain from any further nuclear or missile tests, and understands that US-South Korean military exercises must continue.

&ldquo;(The North Koreans) are saying the right things and we&rsquo;re going to listen to them at the table and we&rsquo;re going to see where this leads,&rdquo; the official said.

No venue or date has been announced for the summit, which is expected to be held in May. Neutral Switzerland, which often hosts summits, said it was ready to facilitate the meeting.

China welcomes talks

A Trump-Kim summit would be a major turnaround after a year in which North Korea has carried out a battery of missile tests that Washington sees as provocative and after a barrage of insults between the two leaders.

US-based experts say North Korea appeared to show last November that it has succeeded in developing a missile capable of delivering a nuclear weapon anywhere in the United States.

Trump has derided Kim as a &quot;maniac,&quot; referred to him as &quot;little rocket man&quot; and threatened in a speech last year to &quot;totally destroy&quot; North Korea, a country of 26 million people, if it attacked the United States or one of its allies.

Kim responded by calling Trump a &quot;mentally deranged US&nbsp;dotard.&quot;

The Trump administration has led a worldwide push to tighten international sanctions on North Korea to choke off resources needed for its weapons programs.

World leaders welcomed prospects for a possible thaw in the Korea standoff including China, which is North Korea&#39;s largest trading partner and its sole major ally.

President Xi Jinping told Trump in a phone call on Friday that he appreciates his desire to resolve the North Korea issue politically, Chinese state media said.

Xi &quot;hopes the United States and North Korea start contacts and dialogue as soon as possible and strive to reach positive results,&quot; the report added.

Sarah Sanders did not specify what actions North Korea needed to take, and a White House official later said she was not intending to set new conditions for talks with Kim

US President Donald Trump will not meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un unless Pyongyang takes "concrete actions," the White House said on Friday as it faced criticism for agreeing to talks that would give North Korea international legitimacy. "The president will not have the meeting without seeing concrete steps and concrete actions take place by North Korea, so the president will actually be getting something," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told a news briefing. Sanders did not specify what actions North Korea needed to take, and a White House official later said she was not intending to set new conditions for talks with Kim. But the comments were a sign that an end to a standoff between the two countries over North Korea's nuclear weapon program is not imminent. The United States has long said it wants any talks to aim at Pyongyang abandoning its nuclear weapons and missile programs. Hopes for a breakthrough with North Korea rose on Thursday when Trump said he was prepared to hold an unprecedented meeting with Kim. The two leaders prompted jitters around the world last year as they exchanged bellicose insults over the North's attempts to develop a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States. Pyongyang has pursued its nuclear program in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions. But tension eased around last month's Winter Olympics in South Korea, laying the groundwork for what would be the first meeting between leaders from North Korea and the United States, and the biggest foreign policy gamble for Trump since he took office in January last year. The head of South Korea's National Security Office, Chung Eui-yong, speaking in Washington on Thursday after briefing Trump about a meeting South Korean officials held with Kim this week, said the US president had agreed to meet the North Korean leader by May in response to an invitation from Kim. Kim had "committed to denuclearization" and to suspending nuclear and missile tests, Chung said. Buying time? A senior State Department official said the talks would likely only be a preliminary discussion about holding future negotiations. "The expectation is that the talks would lead to a discussion around a conclusion that we're ready to engage in negotiations," the official said. Trump's sudden decision to meet with Kim stunned even people in his own administration. Sanders' comments seemed aimed at criticism in the United States that Trump took a misstep by agreeing to talks - thus giving Pyongyang the international legitimacy it seeks - but without earning any big concessions from the North. "The Administration must go into any meeting with a plan to ensure that negotiations with Kim Jong-un produce real results, not a photo op that lends legitimacy to North Korea’s murderous regime,” US Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat who is vice chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, said in a statement. Some US officials and experts worry North Korea could buy time to build up and refine its nuclear arsenal if it drags out talks with Washington. A White House official said Trump remained committed to a meeting with Kim based on the conditions laid out by South Korea on Thursday: that Kim is committed to denuclearization, will refrain from any further nuclear or missile tests, and understands that US-South Korean military exercises must continue. “(The North Koreans) are saying the right things and we’re going to listen to them at the table and we’re going to see where this leads,” the official said. No venue or date has been announced for the summit, which is expected to be held in May. Neutral Switzerland, which often hosts summits, said it was ready to facilitate the meeting. China welcomes talks A Trump-Kim summit would be a major turnaround after a year in which North Korea has carried out a battery of missile tests that Washington sees as provocative and after a barrage of insults between the two leaders. US-based experts say North Korea appeared to show last November that it has succeeded in developing a missile capable of delivering a nuclear weapon anywhere in the United States. Trump has derided Kim as a "maniac," referred to him as "little rocket man" and threatened in a speech last year to "totally destroy" North Korea, a country of 26 million people, if it attacked the United States or one of its allies. Kim responded by calling Trump a "mentally deranged US dotard." The Trump administration has led a worldwide push to tighten international sanctions on North Korea to choke off resources needed for its weapons programs. World leaders welcomed prospects for a possible thaw in the Korea standoff including China, which is North Korea's largest trading partner and its sole major ally. President Xi Jinping told Trump in a phone call on Friday that he appreciates his desire to resolve the North Korea issue politically, Chinese state media said. Xi "hopes the United States and North Korea start contacts and dialogue as soon as possible and strive to reach positive results," the report added.

US seeks 'concrete actions' from North Korea before planned talks

US President Donald Trump on Saturday a deal with North Korea is very much in the making and will be, if completed, a very good one for the world.

Trump took to Twitter and said, &quot;a deal with North Korea is very much in the making and will be, if completed, a very good one for the world.&quot;

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
The deal with North Korea is very much in the making and will be, if completed, a very good one for the World. Time and place to be determined.
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/972271520847466498?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2018</a></blockquote>
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No US president has agreed to sit down with a North Korean leader -- until now. Trump&#39;s move is a sharp departure from 60 years of largely arms-length US&nbsp;diplomacy when it comes to North Korea, not to mention his own previous bellicose rhetoric against Pyongyang.&nbsp;

Trump and Kim prompted jitters around the world last year as they exchanged bellicose insults over the North&#39;s attempts to develop a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States, which it has pursued in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions.

US Vice-President Mike Pence said that the US had made &quot;zero concessions&quot; and aims to&nbsp;maintain pressure until &#39;&#39;denuclearisation&#39;&#39; is&nbsp;accomplished.&nbsp;

It also represents another instance in which the Republican Trump, a businessman who promised to shake up Washington, took a completely different direction than his Democratic predecessor.

Trump reportedly accepted the invitation almost on the spot, making a unilateral decision and up-ending decades of US foreign policy.

The remarkable meeting will see the two eccentric, headstrong leaders meet as soon as May.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said it was &ldquo;a decision the President took himself&rdquo;, just like his radical announcement on tariffs. The news comes amid further embarrassment for the businessman after a the identity of the porn star who accused him of sexual harassment was revealed.

White House officials said that when South Korean national security adviser Chung Eui-yong relayed Kim&#39;s invitation in an Oval Office meeting on Thursday (March 08), Trump readily agreed, feeling that US-led sanctions were weakening North Korea.

Trump's move is a sharp departure from 60 years of largely arms-length US diplomacy when it comes to North Korea, not to mention his own previous bellicose rhetoric against Pyongyang

US President Donald Trump on Saturday a deal with North Korea is very much in the making and will be, if completed, a very good one for the world. Trump took to Twitter and said, "a deal with North Korea is very much in the making and will be, if completed, a very good one for the world." The deal with North Korea is very much in the making and will be, if completed, a very good one for the World. Time and place to be determined. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 10, 2018 × No US president has agreed to sit down with a North Korean leader -- until now. Trump's move is a sharp departure from 60 years of largely arms-length US diplomacy when it comes to North Korea, not to mention his own previous bellicose rhetoric against Pyongyang. Trump and Kim prompted jitters around the world last year as they exchanged bellicose insults over the North's attempts to develop a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States, which it has pursued in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions. US Vice-President Mike Pence said that the US had made "zero concessions" and aims to maintain pressure until ''denuclearisation'' is accomplished. It also represents another instance in which the Republican Trump, a businessman who promised to shake up Washington, took a completely different direction than his Democratic predecessor. Trump reportedly accepted the invitation almost on the spot, making a unilateral decision and up-ending decades of US foreign policy. The remarkable meeting will see the two eccentric, headstrong leaders meet as soon as May. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said it was “a decision the President took himself”, just like his radical announcement on tariffs. The news comes amid further embarrassment for the businessman after a the identity of the porn star who accused him of sexual harassment was revealed. White House officials said that when South Korean national security adviser Chung Eui-yong relayed Kim's invitation in an Oval Office meeting on Thursday (March 08), Trump readily agreed, feeling that US-led sanctions were weakening North Korea.

Deal with North Korea in the making and will be a good one for the world: Trump

North Korea could buy time to build up and refine its nuclear arsenal, including a warhead able to survive re-entry into the Earth&rsquo;s atmosphere if it manages to drag out any talks with Washington, US officials and experts say.

Even if North Korea freezes nuclear detonations and missile tests during such talks - as South Korea has said Pyongyang offered to do - there is plenty of other technical work it could pursue while diplomatic efforts are under way, they say.

Such work could include completing development of a re-entry vehicle that can deliver a nuclear weapon, production of rocket frames, engines and mobile launchers and increasing the output of plutonium and highly enriched uranium for bomb-making.

&ldquo;North Korea can be expected to proceed on all these things ... unless an agreement freezes or stops these activities, something unlikely in the short run,&rdquo; said David Albright, a nuclear non-proliferation expert who heads Washington&#39;s Institute for Science and International Security.

President Donald Trump has said Pyongyang seems &quot;sincere&quot; in its offer of talks, but some in Washington are wary that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be using it as a stalling tactic for further weapons development &ndash; especially of a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the US mainland - and to seek relief from tough international sanctions.

US intelligence officials have said Kim is only months away from being able to mount such a strike, while some experts say he may already have the basic capability, even if it remains untested.

The Trump administration must weigh such risks, including North Korea&rsquo;s history of reneging on commitments, in deciding whether to go to the negotiating table, US officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Proponents of engagement, including Joel Wit, a senior fellow at Washington&#39;s US-Korea Institute, said the fact that North Korea was unlikely to agree to a complete freeze of activity should not be an obstacle.

&quot;These programs are going to continue, but if we have a suspension of nuclear tests and missile tests, that&rsquo;s a good first step here. It&rsquo;s better than not having one,&quot; he said.

US officials said Trump would be prepared to quickly pull the plug on diplomacy if it becomes obvious that Pyongyang is just trying to drag out talks.

One administration official said that while it was unclear how long Trump might keep the negotiating window open, it would likely be evident in months &ldquo;if North Korea is just playing us.&rdquo;

Either way, US officials and experts agree there is value in getting North Korea to put its testing on hold as launches and detonations are vital to developing reliable weapons.

North Korea has tested dozens of missiles of various types in the past two years, including one launch of its largest-ever intercontinental ballistic missile, which is theoretically capable of hitting anywhere in the United States, on November 29. There have since been no more tests.

South Korean envoys, who met Kim in Pyongyang this week and who are due in Washington to brief US officials on Thursday, said he offered to suspend all nuclear and missile tests while conducting talks with the United States.

They said Kim also expressed a willingness to denuclearize, something he previously declared non-negotiable if his country&rsquo;s security was guaranteed.

US and South Korean officials worry that North Korea will ultimately lay down impossible demands in talks &ndash; such as the complete withdrawal of US forces from South Korea - and once diplomacy fails, emerge as an even greater threat than before.

Perhaps North Korea&#39;s biggest challenge, experts say, is to show it can produce a re-entry vehicle robust enough to prevent a nuclear warhead burning up when it hurtles back into the Earth&#39;s atmosphere.

Some of that work can be done on the ground, although a live test will eventually be needed as North Korea has never flown a missile at a trajectory that would simulate a long-range flight, experts say.

US officials and experts believe North Korea also needs more time to create facilities capable of mass-producing missiles, engines and other components - a challenge to any country even without the constraints of stringent international sanctions.

To create a credible deterrent to the United States, North Korea would have to show it has the ability to launch multiple missiles at once to circumvent the US anti-missile defences in the event of war.

It also needs additional transporter-erector-launchers, or TELs, to enable it to fire missiles from hastily established positions less vulnerable to detection and attack than permanent launch sites.

US intelligence officials have said Kim is only months away from being able to mount such a strike

North Korea could buy time to build up and refine its nuclear arsenal, including a warhead able to survive re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere if it manages to drag out any talks with Washington, US officials and experts say. Even if North Korea freezes nuclear detonations and missile tests during such talks - as South Korea has said Pyongyang offered to do - there is plenty of other technical work it could pursue while diplomatic efforts are under way, they say. Such work could include completing development of a re-entry vehicle that can deliver a nuclear weapon, production of rocket frames, engines and mobile launchers and increasing the output of plutonium and highly enriched uranium for bomb-making. “North Korea can be expected to proceed on all these things ... unless an agreement freezes or stops these activities, something unlikely in the short run,” said David Albright, a nuclear non-proliferation expert who heads Washington's Institute for Science and International Security. President Donald Trump has said Pyongyang seems "sincere" in its offer of talks, but some in Washington are wary that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be using it as a stalling tactic for further weapons development – especially of a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the US mainland - and to seek relief from tough international sanctions. US intelligence officials have said Kim is only months away from being able to mount such a strike, while some experts say he may already have the basic capability, even if it remains untested. The Trump administration must weigh such risks, including North Korea’s history of reneging on commitments, in deciding whether to go to the negotiating table, US officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Proponents of engagement, including Joel Wit, a senior fellow at Washington's US-Korea Institute, said the fact that North Korea was unlikely to agree to a complete freeze of activity should not be an obstacle. "These programs are going to continue, but if we have a suspension of nuclear tests and missile tests, that’s a good first step here. It’s better than not having one," he said. US officials said Trump would be prepared to quickly pull the plug on diplomacy if it becomes obvious that Pyongyang is just trying to drag out talks. One administration official said that while it was unclear how long Trump might keep the negotiating window open, it would likely be evident in months “if North Korea is just playing us.” Either way, US officials and experts agree there is value in getting North Korea to put its testing on hold as launches and detonations are vital to developing reliable weapons. North Korea has tested dozens of missiles of various types in the past two years, including one launch of its largest-ever intercontinental ballistic missile, which is theoretically capable of hitting anywhere in the United States, on November 29. There have since been no more tests. South Korean envoys, who met Kim in Pyongyang this week and who are due in Washington to brief US officials on Thursday, said he offered to suspend all nuclear and missile tests while conducting talks with the United States. They said Kim also expressed a willingness to denuclearize, something he previously declared non-negotiable if his country’s security was guaranteed. US and South Korean officials worry that North Korea will ultimately lay down impossible demands in talks – such as the complete withdrawal of US forces from South Korea - and once diplomacy fails, emerge as an even greater threat than before. Perhaps North Korea's biggest challenge, experts say, is to show it can produce a re-entry vehicle robust enough to prevent a nuclear warhead burning up when it hurtles back into the Earth's atmosphere. Some of that work can be done on the ground, although a live test will eventually be needed as North Korea has never flown a missile at a trajectory that would simulate a long-range flight, experts say. US officials and experts believe North Korea also needs more time to create facilities capable of mass-producing missiles, engines and other components - a challenge to any country even without the constraints of stringent international sanctions. To create a credible deterrent to the United States, North Korea would have to show it has the ability to launch multiple missiles at once to circumvent the US anti-missile defences in the event of war. It also needs additional transporter-erector-launchers, or TELs, to enable it to fire missiles from hastily established positions less vulnerable to detection and attack than permanent launch sites.

US wary of North Korea weapons advances while talks take place

China&#39;s foreign minister urged the United States and North Korea Thursday to start talks as soon as possible, stressing that &quot;the sincerity&quot; of all parties to solve the nuclear crisis would be tested.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi cautiously welcomed Seoul&#39;s announcement that Pyongyang had offered to hold denuclearisation talks with the United States in return for security guarantees.

The North also agreed to hold a historic summit between its leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in late April.

&quot;The Korean peninsula issue has finally taken an important step in the right direction,&quot; Wang told a press conference on the sidelines of annual parliamentary session.

&quot;These initial steps must be followed up by corresponding and concerted efforts by the parties. We call on the parties, particularly the United States and the DPRK, to engage in dialogue sooner rather than later,&quot; he said.

But Wang issued a word of caution, noting that breakthroughs on the North Korean nuclear issue had collapsed in the past.

&quot;Of course it takes more than one cold day to freeze three feet of ice,&quot; he said.

&quot;Despite light at the end of the tunnel, the journey ahead won&rsquo;t be smooth. History has reminded us time and again that whenever tensions subsided on the peninsula the situation would be clouded by various interferences,&quot; he said.

&quot;Now is the crucial moment to test the sincerity of the parties to solve the nuclear issue.&quot;

Foreign Minister Wang Yi cautiously welcomed Seoul's announcement that Pyongyang had offered to hold denuclearisation talks with the United States in return for security guarantees.

China's foreign minister urged the United States and North Korea Thursday to start talks as soon as possible, stressing that "the sincerity" of all parties to solve the nuclear crisis would be tested. Foreign Minister Wang Yi cautiously welcomed Seoul's announcement that Pyongyang had offered to hold denuclearisation talks with the United States in return for security guarantees. The North also agreed to hold a historic summit between its leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in late April. "The Korean peninsula issue has finally taken an important step in the right direction," Wang told a press conference on the sidelines of annual parliamentary session. "These initial steps must be followed up by corresponding and concerted efforts by the parties. We call on the parties, particularly the United States and the DPRK, to engage in dialogue sooner rather than later," he said. But Wang issued a word of caution, noting that breakthroughs on the North Korean nuclear issue had collapsed in the past. "Of course it takes more than one cold day to freeze three feet of ice," he said. "Despite light at the end of the tunnel, the journey ahead won’t be smooth. History has reminded us time and again that whenever tensions subsided on the peninsula the situation would be clouded by various interferences," he said. "Now is the crucial moment to test the sincerity of the parties to solve the nuclear issue."

China urges US, North Korea to hold talks 'sooner than later'

South Korea will dispatch a delegation led by senior security officials for a two-day visit to North Korea starting Monday, the presidential Blue House announced Sunday, as US&nbsp;President Donald Trump hinted that he is ready to talk to Pyongyang.

For its part, North Korea said it was not begging to talk with Washington and denounced upcoming US-South Korean joint-military exercises, warning that it would take counter measures against the United States if they went ahead.

The drills will take place next month, a South Korean presidential security adviser said according to the Yonhap news agency. They had been delayed until after the Winter Olympics and Paralympic games in South Korea.

South Korea&#39;s presidential Blue House said in a statement that National Security Office (NSO) head Chung Eui-yong and National Intelligence Service (NIS) chief Suh Hoon, a veteran of past negotiations with the North, will be among the 10-member South Korean delegation visiting Pyongyang.

The visit was part of an effort to lower tensions on the Korean peninsula as well as possibly arrange talks between North Korea and the United States, it said.

After the visit to North Korea the envoys will travel to the United States to brief officials, and Seoul said it would also coordinate closely with officials in Japan and China.

During a joke-filled monologue at a dinner with journalists in Washington on Saturday, Trump suggested that the United States will be meeting with North Korea but has told Pyongyang it must first &quot;denuke.&quot;

&quot;We will be meeting and we&#39;ll see if anything positive happens,&quot; he added.

It was unclear if Trump was joking or if formal US-North Korea talks were imminent.

Speaking on Sunday in Beijing ahead of the opening of China&#39;s parliament, Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui said China hoped the United States and North Korea could begin dialogue too.

&quot;War and chaos on the peninsula in not in the interests of any side,&quot; Zhang said.

Last month, US&nbsp;Vice President Mike Pence was scheduled to meet with North Korean officials, including leader Kim Jong Un&rsquo;s sister, while in South Korea for the Winter Olympics but the North Koreans cancelled at the last minute, US&nbsp;officials said in February.

North Korea reiterated on Saturday that it was willing to talk to the United States but said it would never sit with any precondition.

A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman was quoted by KCNA as saying &quot;we will neither beg for dialogue nor evade the military option claimed by the US&quot;

A commentary published by North Korea&#39;s official KCNA news agency warned that North Korea would &quot;counter the US&quot; if joint military drills go forward.

The Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang last month gave a boost to recent engagement between the two Koreas after more than a year of sharply rising tensions over the North&#39;s missile programme and its sixth and largest nuclear test in defiance of United Nations sanctions.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in hopes to capitalize on that thaw in relations by arranging talks over North Korea&#39;s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programme.

During a phone call on Thursday, Moon told Trump of his plan to send a special envoy to North Korea in response to an invitation from leader Kim Jong Un.

In sending an envoy to Pyongyang, Moon said he would be seeking to reciprocate Kim Jong Un&#39;s decision to send a senior delegation, including his sister, Kim Yo Jong, to the Olympics, marking the first visit by a member of the North&#39;s ruling bloodline since the 1950-53 Korean War.

The White House has said any talks with North Korea must lead to an end of its nuclear programme, and on February 23, the United States said it was imposing its largest package of sanctions to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programmes.

At the time, Trump also warned of a &quot;phase two&quot; that could be &quot;very, very unfortunate for the world&quot; if the steps did not work.

North Korea said it was not begging to talk with Washington and denounced upcoming US-South Korean joint-military exercises, warning that it would take counter measures against the United States if they went ahead

South Korea will dispatch a delegation led by senior security officials for a two-day visit to North Korea starting Monday, the presidential Blue House announced Sunday, as US President Donald Trump hinted that he is ready to talk to Pyongyang. For its part, North Korea said it was not begging to talk with Washington and denounced upcoming US-South Korean joint-military exercises, warning that it would take counter measures against the United States if they went ahead. The drills will take place next month, a South Korean presidential security adviser said according to the Yonhap news agency. They had been delayed until after the Winter Olympics and Paralympic games in South Korea. South Korea's presidential Blue House said in a statement that National Security Office (NSO) head Chung Eui-yong and National Intelligence Service (NIS) chief Suh Hoon, a veteran of past negotiations with the North, will be among the 10-member South Korean delegation visiting Pyongyang. The visit was part of an effort to lower tensions on the Korean peninsula as well as possibly arrange talks between North Korea and the United States, it said. After the visit to North Korea the envoys will travel to the United States to brief officials, and Seoul said it would also coordinate closely with officials in Japan and China. During a joke-filled monologue at a dinner with journalists in Washington on Saturday, Trump suggested that the United States will be meeting with North Korea but has told Pyongyang it must first "denuke." "We will be meeting and we'll see if anything positive happens," he added. It was unclear if Trump was joking or if formal US-North Korea talks were imminent. Speaking on Sunday in Beijing ahead of the opening of China's parliament, Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui said China hoped the United States and North Korea could begin dialogue too. "War and chaos on the peninsula in not in the interests of any side," Zhang said. Last month, US Vice President Mike Pence was scheduled to meet with North Korean officials, including leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, while in South Korea for the Winter Olympics but the North Koreans cancelled at the last minute, US officials said in February. North Korea reiterated on Saturday that it was willing to talk to the United States but said it would never sit with any precondition. A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman was quoted by KCNA as saying "we will neither beg for dialogue nor evade the military option claimed by the US" A commentary published by North Korea's official KCNA news agency warned that North Korea would "counter the US" if joint military drills go forward. The Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang last month gave a boost to recent engagement between the two Koreas after more than a year of sharply rising tensions over the North's missile programme and its sixth and largest nuclear test in defiance of United Nations sanctions. South Korean President Moon Jae-in hopes to capitalize on that thaw in relations by arranging talks over North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programme. During a phone call on Thursday, Moon told Trump of his plan to send a special envoy to North Korea in response to an invitation from leader Kim Jong Un. In sending an envoy to Pyongyang, Moon said he would be seeking to reciprocate Kim Jong Un's decision to send a senior delegation, including his sister, Kim Yo Jong, to the Olympics, marking the first visit by a member of the North's ruling bloodline since the 1950-53 Korean War. The White House has said any talks with North Korea must lead to an end of its nuclear programme, and on February 23, the United States said it was imposing its largest package of sanctions to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programmes. At the time, Trump also warned of a "phase two" that could be "very, very unfortunate for the world" if the steps did not work.

South Korea sending envoys to North Korea as Trump suggests US willing to talk

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