The United States and South Korea agreed to revise their six-year-old trade pact with a side deal to deter competitive currency devaluation by Seoul and with concessions for US&nbspautos and pharmaceutical companies, Trump administration officials said on Tuesday.

They told reporters that the deal includes provisions outlined by South Korean officials on Monday, including a 20-year extension of the 25-percent US&nbsptariff on pickup trucks and a doubling of the Korean import cap on autos that meet US-specifications to 50,000 per manufacturer per year.

The agreement, cobbled together quickly with only a few rounds of negotiations under Trump's threat of withdrawal, will include a side-letter that requires South Korea to provide increased transparency of its foreign exchange interventions, with commitments to avoid won devaluations for competitive purposes.

The currency deal, final details of which are still being negotiated between the US&nbspTreasury and South Korea's Ministry of Strategy and Finance, is considered a "side letter" that will not be enforceable with trade sanctions.

Many US&nbsplawmakers, particularly Democrats, had opposed the 2015 Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal because it had a similar currency manipulation side-agreement that could not be enforced. The revised KORUS will be the first US&nbsptrade deal with a currency side-deal.

The currency deal is considered a "side letter" that will not be enforceable with trade sanctions

The United States and South Korea agreed to revise their six-year-old trade pact with a side deal to deter competitive currency devaluation by Seoul and with concessions for US&nbspautos and pharmaceutical companies, Trump administration officials said on Tuesday. They told reporters that the deal includes provisions outlined by South Korean officials on Monday, including a 20-year extension of the 25-percent US&nbsptariff on pickup trucks and a doubling of the Korean import cap on autos that meet US-specifications to 50,000 per manufacturer per year. The agreement, cobbled together quickly with only a few rounds of negotiations under Trump's threat of withdrawal, will include a side-letter that requires South Korea to provide increased transparency of its foreign exchange interventions, with commitments to avoid won devaluations for competitive purposes. The currency deal, final details of which are still being negotiated between the US&nbspTreasury and South Korea's Ministry of Strategy and Finance, is considered a "side letter" that will not be enforceable with trade sanctions. Many US&nbsplawmakers, particularly Democrats, had opposed the 2015 Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal because it had a similar currency manipulation side-agreement that could not be enforced. The revised KORUS will be the first US&nbsptrade deal with a currency side-deal.

US, South Korea to revise trade pact with currency side-deal

A South Korea court issued an arrest warrant for ex-President Lee Myung-bak on corruption charges Thursday, Yonhap news agency reported, days after he faced a marathon interrogation by prosecutors.

The 76-year-old, who served from 2008 to 2013, is the latest of several ex-leaders to be embroiled in a criminal inquiry and is being investigated for multiple cases of bribery amounting to millions of dollars.&nbsp;

Prosecutors had raised fears he may destroy evidence if not detained. Yonhap reported that if convicted of all the allegations he could be jailed for up to 45 years.

Lee, who has denied most of the accusations he faced, will be the fourth surviving former South Korean leader to be detained over corruption.&nbsp;

The allegations against Lee include claims that the Samsung Group bought a presidential pardon in 2009 for its chairman Lee Kun-hee, who had been convicted of tax evasion and given a suspended jail sentence.&nbsp;

Lee is also accused of accepting millions of dollars from a former CEO of a state-financed banking group for helping him assume the post.&nbsp;

In addition, the businessman-turned-politician is accused of receiving $100,000 in off-book funds from the state spy agency and embezzling millions of dollars from an auto parts company he is said to own under the names of his relatives.

The conservative ex-leader has denounced the investigation as &quot;political revenge&quot; by his rivals.

All four former South Korean presidents who are still alive have been convicted, charged or investigated for criminal offences.

Lee&#39;s predecessor Park Geun-Hye is currently in jail pending a verdict in her bribery trial after being impeached last year over a corruption scandal. Prosecutors have demanded 30 years in jail.&nbsp;

Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, former army generals who served through the 1980s to early 1990s, served jail terms in the 1990s for corruption and treason after leaving office.&nbsp;

Both Chun and Roh received presidential pardons after serving about two years.

A South Korea court issued an arrest warrant for ex-President Lee Myung-bak on corruption charges Thursday, Yonhap news agency reported, days after he faced a marathon interrogation by prosecutors

A South Korea court issued an arrest warrant for ex-President Lee Myung-bak on corruption charges Thursday, Yonhap news agency reported, days after he faced a marathon interrogation by prosecutors. The 76-year-old, who served from 2008 to 2013, is the latest of several ex-leaders to be embroiled in a criminal inquiry and is being investigated for multiple cases of bribery amounting to millions of dollars. Prosecutors had raised fears he may destroy evidence if not detained. Yonhap reported that if convicted of all the allegations he could be jailed for up to 45 years. Lee, who has denied most of the accusations he faced, will be the fourth surviving former South Korean leader to be detained over corruption. The allegations against Lee include claims that the Samsung Group bought a presidential pardon in 2009 for its chairman Lee Kun-hee, who had been convicted of tax evasion and given a suspended jail sentence. Lee is also accused of accepting millions of dollars from a former CEO of a state-financed banking group for helping him assume the post. In addition, the businessman-turned-politician is accused of receiving $100,000 in off-book funds from the state spy agency and embezzling millions of dollars from an auto parts company he is said to own under the names of his relatives. The conservative ex-leader has denounced the investigation as "political revenge" by his rivals. All four former South Korean presidents who are still alive have been convicted, charged or investigated for criminal offences. Lee's predecessor Park Geun-Hye is currently in jail pending a verdict in her bribery trial after being impeached last year over a corruption scandal. Prosecutors have demanded 30 years in jail. Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, former army generals who served through the 1980s to early 1990s, served jail terms in the 1990s for corruption and treason after leaving office. Both Chun and Roh received presidential pardons after serving about two years.

Arrest warrant issued for ex-South Korean President Lee: Report

According to Britain's Financial Times, volunteers in the UK will be infected with coronavirus in order to test a possible vaccine to combat the virus.

Watch:&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="http://www.wionews.com/videos/us-health-body-contradicts-trumps-claim-on-vaccine-arrival-328283/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The Boris Johnson government has reportedly been discussing the possibility of "human challenge studies" to develop the vaccine. The "challenge" if it is approved will be the first of its kind in the world as the world grapples with the virus.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-offers-to-give-free-coronavirus-vaccine-for-un-staff-across-globe-329566">Also Read:&nbsp;Russia offers to give free coronavirus vaccine for UN staff across globe</a>

The UK government had recently announced fresh guidelines to combat the virus which has begun spreading rapidly once again as the country reopened with harsh social distancing measures being put in place across the country with pubs, bars and other venues ordered to close by 10pm.&nbsp;

The race for the vaccine has been going around the world with Johnson &amp; Johnson announcing on Wednesday that it was entered the final Phase-3 stage of vaccine trials.

Johnson &amp; Johnson will seek to enrol up to 60,000 volunteers across over 200 sites in the United States and around the world to conduct the trials. J&amp;J would become the tenth vaccine maker globally to conduct the Phase 3 trial against coronavirus, and the fourth in the US.

"As COVID-19 continues to impact the daily lives of people around the world, our goal remains the same -- leveraging the global reach and scientific innovation of our company to help bring an end to this pandemic," &nbsp;Alex Gorsky, chairman and CEO of the company said.

Meanwhile, French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi and UK's GSK have promised up to 72 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine candidate to the Canadian government as countries race to get their hands on potential vaccine early to combat the virus.

Canada had earlier announced an agreement with Gilead Sciences and McKesson Canada for up to 150,000 vials of remdesivir.

Amid the race for the vaccine, the World Health Organization(WHO) said that over 60 wealthy nations have joined its programme to facilitate poor countries' to access the vaccine but the US and China haven't joined the list.

A Seoul defence ministry spokesman Tuesday confirmed the main exercise, expected to resume on April 1, would be truncated

According to Britain's Financial Times, volunteers in the UK will be infected with coronavirus in order to test a possible vaccine to combat the virus. Watch: The Boris Johnson government has reportedly been discussing the possibility of "human challenge studies" to develop the vaccine. The "challenge" if it is approved will be the first of its kind in the world as the world grapples with the virus. Also Read: Russia offers to give free coronavirus vaccine for UN staff across globe The UK government had recently announced fresh guidelines to combat the virus which has begun spreading rapidly once again as the country reopened with harsh social distancing measures being put in place across the country with pubs, bars and other venues ordered to close by 10pm. The race for the vaccine has been going around the world with Johnson & Johnson announcing on Wednesday that it was entered the final Phase-3 stage of vaccine trials. Johnson & Johnson will seek to enrol up to 60,000 volunteers across over 200 sites in the United States and around the world to conduct the trials. J&J would become the tenth vaccine maker globally to conduct the Phase 3 trial against coronavirus, and the fourth in the US. "As COVID-19 continues to impact the daily lives of people around the world, our goal remains the same -- leveraging the global reach and scientific innovation of our company to help bring an end to this pandemic," Alex Gorsky, chairman and CEO of the company said. Meanwhile, French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi and UK's GSK have promised up to 72 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine candidate to the Canadian government as countries race to get their hands on potential vaccine early to combat the virus. Canada had earlier announced an agreement with Gilead Sciences and McKesson Canada for up to 150,000 vials of remdesivir. Amid the race for the vaccine, the World Health Organization(WHO) said that over 60 wealthy nations have joined its programme to facilitate poor countries' to access the vaccine but the US and China haven't joined the list.

US, South Korea military drills to resume

The North Korean and Swedish foreign ministers ended three days of talks on Saturday on the security situation on the Korean peninsula which may help prepare the way for a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.

North Korea&rsquo;s Ri Yong Ho arrived in Stockholm on Thursday for talks with his Swedish counterpart Margot Wallstrom amid a flurry of diplomatic activity concerning the reclusive country and its nuclear ambitions.

Trump reaffirmed on Friday that he was willing to meet Kim after South Korean officials passed on an invitation earlier this month. North Korea has so far not publicly acknowledged the invitation.

&ldquo;The foreign ministers discussed opportunities and challenges for continued diplomatic efforts to reach a peaceful solution to the conflict as well as bilateral relations,&rdquo; the Swedish foreign ministry said in a statement after Ri and Wallstrom wound up their talks.

&ldquo;Sweden underlined the need for North Korea to dismantle its nuclear arms and missiles program in line with several Security Council resolutions.&rdquo;

No US government officials participated in the talks this week in Sweden, a State Department official said.

The Central Intelligence Agency has taken the lead on organizing potential discussions between the US and North Korea, The New York Times reported on Saturday. The head of the CIA, Mike Pompeo, has been named as a successor to run the State Department in the wake of the ouster of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

The talks in Stockholm had initially been scheduled to conclude on Friday but were extended into the weekend.

&ldquo;The dialogue has been constructive,&rdquo; a source with knowledge of the discussions said. &ldquo;It should be seen as a positive sign that the meeting was extended (until Saturday).&rdquo;

The source said that Sweden had been in close touch with the United States and South Korea before the Stockholm meetings and hoped the talks would lead to further progress towards defusing tensions.

&ldquo;Sweden will continue to do what it can, but it is the protagonists themselves who have to drive the process forward,&rdquo; the source said.

In the wake of the Stockholm talks, Wallstrom will meet her South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha, who was in Washington this week for talks on North Korea and trade, in Brussels on Monday, Wallstrom&rsquo;s spokesman said.

Sweden is one of a handful of countries considered a possible venue for a meeting between Trump and Kim, who have engaged in bellicose mudslinging over North Korea and its nuclear arms program.

Trump reaffirmed on Friday that he was willing to meet Kim after South Korean officials passed on an invitation earlier this month. North Korea has so far not publicly acknowledged the invitation

The North Korean and Swedish foreign ministers ended three days of talks on Saturday on the security situation on the Korean peninsula which may help prepare the way for a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. North Korea’s Ri Yong Ho arrived in Stockholm on Thursday for talks with his Swedish counterpart Margot Wallstrom amid a flurry of diplomatic activity concerning the reclusive country and its nuclear ambitions. Trump reaffirmed on Friday that he was willing to meet Kim after South Korean officials passed on an invitation earlier this month. North Korea has so far not publicly acknowledged the invitation. “The foreign ministers discussed opportunities and challenges for continued diplomatic efforts to reach a peaceful solution to the conflict as well as bilateral relations,” the Swedish foreign ministry said in a statement after Ri and Wallstrom wound up their talks. “Sweden underlined the need for North Korea to dismantle its nuclear arms and missiles program in line with several Security Council resolutions.” No US government officials participated in the talks this week in Sweden, a State Department official said. The Central Intelligence Agency has taken the lead on organizing potential discussions between the US and North Korea, The New York Times reported on Saturday. The head of the CIA, Mike Pompeo, has been named as a successor to run the State Department in the wake of the ouster of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The talks in Stockholm had initially been scheduled to conclude on Friday but were extended into the weekend. “The dialogue has been constructive,” a source with knowledge of the discussions said. “It should be seen as a positive sign that the meeting was extended (until Saturday).” The source said that Sweden had been in close touch with the United States and South Korea before the Stockholm meetings and hoped the talks would lead to further progress towards defusing tensions. “Sweden will continue to do what it can, but it is the protagonists themselves who have to drive the process forward,” the source said. In the wake of the Stockholm talks, Wallstrom will meet her South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha, who was in Washington this week for talks on North Korea and trade, in Brussels on Monday, Wallstrom’s spokesman said. Sweden is one of a handful of countries considered a possible venue for a meeting between Trump and Kim, who have engaged in bellicose mudslinging over North Korea and its nuclear arms program.

Sweden, North Korea talks end, may help pave way for Trump-Kim encounter

Former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak was questioned over corruption today, the last of the country&#39;s living ex-leaders to be embroiled in a criminal inquiry.

Allegations of graft involving the conservative 76-year-old&#39;s relatives and aides during his term have mounted in recent weeks as prosecutors investigate multiple cases of bribery amounting to millions of dollars.

The probe means that all four living former South Korean presidents have been convicted, charged, or investigated for criminal offences.

&quot;I stand here with a heavy heart,&quot; Lee said as he arrived at the prosecutors&#39; office in Seoul, after a car journey from his home in the capital covered live on television.

&quot;I&#39;m very sorry for causing concern to the people,&quot; he told reporters, adding that South Koreans&#39; livelihoods were &quot;difficult&quot; and the security situation on the Korean peninsula was &quot;dire&quot;.

Lee, who was president from 2008 to 2013, has previously denounced the inquiry as &quot;political revenge&quot; and said Wednesday he hoped it would be the &quot;last time in history&quot; that a former South Korean head of state was summoned for questioning by prosecutors.

&quot;As a former president, I have a lot to say about this but I will spare my words,&quot; he said.

South Korean presidents have a tendency to end up in prison - or meet untimely ends - after their time in power, usually, once their political rivals have moved into the presidential Blue House.

Conservative Park Geun-hye was ousted last year over a massive corruption scandal that emerged in 2016, and the verdict in her bribery and abuse of power trial is due next month, with prosecutors demanding 30 years in jail.

Lee&#39;s own predecessor, the liberal Roh Moo-hyun, committed suicide by jumping off a cliff after being questioned over corruption allegations in 2009.

After the South embraced democracy in the 1990s former dictator Chun Doo-hwan and his friend and successor Roh Tae-woo were handed death sentences for their involvement in a 1979 military coup and for receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes from businesses.

Their sentences were later commuted to life in prison, and they were eventually pardoned and released after serving about two years each.

Yoo Seong-min, head of the minor opposition Bareunmirae party, blamed the phenomenon on &quot;the shortfalls of the winner-takes-all presidential government system&quot; that creates opportunities for corruption.

It was a &quot;big tragedy in the country&#39;s constitutional history&quot; that a former president was in custody and another one was being questioned by prosecutors, he added.

But Hong Joon-pyo, head of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, said the government of the liberal current President Moon Jae-in was &quot;digging up old wrongdoings&quot; and taking action against Lee for political purposes.

&quot;This will boomerang&quot; on Moon, he wrote on his Facebook account.

Lee, accompanied by his defence lawyer, was received by a senior prosecutor and given tea before being ushered into room 1001, where Park underwent a marathon 21.5 hour questioning last year.

Lee is expected to return home after the questioning, but prosecutors are thought likely to then ask a court for an arrest warrant.

Two of the ex-president&#39;s former aides have been arrested as part of the investigation and the homes and offices of his brothers raided.

The allegations include claims that the Samsung Group bought a presidential pardon in 2009 for its chairman Lee Kun-hee, who had been convicted of tax evasion and given a suspended jail sentence.

Samsung reportedly paid six billion won ($5.6 million) in legal fees to a US law firm on the former president&#39;s behalf.

Both Samsung and Lee have denied the allegations as groundless.

According to reports, Lee is also accused of accepting 2.2 billion won from a former CEO of a state-financed banking group for helping him assume the post.

He allegedly pocketed 1.7 billion won of secret funds from the country&#39;s spy agency, received 400 million won in bribes from a lawmaker, and embezzled millions of dollars from DAS, an auto parts company he is said to own under the names of his relatives.

The interrogation was expected to last around 20 hours, Yonhap news agency said, with prosecutors having prepared around 120 pages of questions relating to some 20 alleged offences.

A senior prosecutor told journalists: &quot;We will treat the former president with dignity but we will conduct a thorough and transparent probe.&quot;&nbsp;

Allegations of graft involving the conservative 76-year-old's relatives and aides during his term have mounted in recent weeks as prosecutors investigate multiple cases of bribery amounting to millions of dollars

Former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak was questioned over corruption today, the last of the country's living ex-leaders to be embroiled in a criminal inquiry. Allegations of graft involving the conservative 76-year-old's relatives and aides during his term have mounted in recent weeks as prosecutors investigate multiple cases of bribery amounting to millions of dollars. The probe means that all four living former South Korean presidents have been convicted, charged, or investigated for criminal offences. "I stand here with a heavy heart," Lee said as he arrived at the prosecutors' office in Seoul, after a car journey from his home in the capital covered live on television. "I'm very sorry for causing concern to the people," he told reporters, adding that South Koreans' livelihoods were "difficult" and the security situation on the Korean peninsula was "dire". Lee, who was president from 2008 to 2013, has previously denounced the inquiry as "political revenge" and said Wednesday he hoped it would be the "last time in history" that a former South Korean head of state was summoned for questioning by prosecutors. "As a former president, I have a lot to say about this but I will spare my words," he said. South Korean presidents have a tendency to end up in prison - or meet untimely ends - after their time in power, usually, once their political rivals have moved into the presidential Blue House. Conservative Park Geun-hye was ousted last year over a massive corruption scandal that emerged in 2016, and the verdict in her bribery and abuse of power trial is due next month, with prosecutors demanding 30 years in jail. Lee's own predecessor, the liberal Roh Moo-hyun, committed suicide by jumping off a cliff after being questioned over corruption allegations in 2009. After the South embraced democracy in the 1990s former dictator Chun Doo-hwan and his friend and successor Roh Tae-woo were handed death sentences for their involvement in a 1979 military coup and for receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes from businesses. Their sentences were later commuted to life in prison, and they were eventually pardoned and released after serving about two years each. Yoo Seong-min, head of the minor opposition Bareunmirae party, blamed the phenomenon on "the shortfalls of the winner-takes-all presidential government system" that creates opportunities for corruption. It was a "big tragedy in the country's constitutional history" that a former president was in custody and another one was being questioned by prosecutors, he added. But Hong Joon-pyo, head of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, said the government of the liberal current President Moon Jae-in was "digging up old wrongdoings" and taking action against Lee for political purposes. "This will boomerang" on Moon, he wrote on his Facebook account. Lee, accompanied by his defence lawyer, was received by a senior prosecutor and given tea before being ushered into room 1001, where Park underwent a marathon 21.5 hour questioning last year. Lee is expected to return home after the questioning, but prosecutors are thought likely to then ask a court for an arrest warrant. Two of the ex-president's former aides have been arrested as part of the investigation and the homes and offices of his brothers raided. The allegations include claims that the Samsung Group bought a presidential pardon in 2009 for its chairman Lee Kun-hee, who had been convicted of tax evasion and given a suspended jail sentence. Samsung reportedly paid six billion won ($5.6 million) in legal fees to a US law firm on the former president's behalf. Both Samsung and Lee have denied the allegations as groundless. According to reports, Lee is also accused of accepting 2.2 billion won from a former CEO of a state-financed banking group for helping him assume the post. He allegedly pocketed 1.7 billion won of secret funds from the country's spy agency, received 400 million won in bribes from a lawmaker, and embezzled millions of dollars from DAS, an auto parts company he is said to own under the names of his relatives. The interrogation was expected to last around 20 hours, Yonhap news agency said, with prosecutors having prepared around 120 pages of questions relating to some 20 alleged offences. A senior prosecutor told journalists: "We will treat the former president with dignity but we will conduct a thorough and transparent probe."

South Korean ex-president Lee Myung-bak questioned on graft

By&nbsp;Gary Grappo*&nbsp;

The world can be forgiven for having been whipsawed by Washington&rsquo;s announcement on March 8 that President Donald Trump will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The revelation came after briefings at the White House for the US administration by South Korean officials following South Korean President Moon Jae-in&rsquo;s dispatch of a delegation to Pyongyang for talks with their North Korean counterparts. Those meetings resulted in the invitation from Chairman Kim for the meeting between President Trump and him.

No sitting US president has ever met with a North Korean leader. (Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton did but only after leaving office.) The jolting realization that this may now take place &mdash; tentatively scheduled for May &mdash; with a sitting US president who has variously threatened, taunted and excoriated Kim has the foreign policy intelligentsia and US public both flummoxed and leery, and probably just a bit anxious.

Is Donald Trump &mdash; both famous and infamous for his much touted deal-making skills, but also notorious for ignorance of complex foreign policy issues and lack of interest in educating himself &mdash; really up to this? Let&rsquo;s remember, we are talking about two leaders who have both bragged about their nuclear weapons and threatened to use them.

Credit goes to South Korea&rsquo;s President Moon for recognizing and capitalizing on the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic games to encourage North-South dialog. Especially noteworthy is his recognition that any such proposed talks between Trump and Kim would be dead on arrival in Washington without the North&rsquo;s agreement to discuss the &ldquo;d&rdquo; word: denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.&nbsp;

Hoping the past isn&#39;t prelude

Let&rsquo;s return to reality. In the past, negotiations have been a tried and true tactic of the North Koreans to extract what they need from the US and the West, only to restart nuclear and missile testing when they got what they wanted. Invariably, their nuclear strategy proceeded almost unabated.

The US and its various negotiating partners, including South Korea, China and Japan, have all had the carpet pulled out from under them every time they&rsquo;ve attempted to negotiate with Pyongyang, including the most recent and short lived in early 2012. North Korea had pledged not to launch satellites in exchange for US and other Western aid. The agreement was abrogated when the North launched a satellite a few short months later to celebrate the centennial birthdate of the country&rsquo;s founder, Kim Il-Sung. And so it has gone, dating back at least to 1993. Ditto on agreements with South Korea, the UN and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Can we expect this time to be any different?

The North is negotiating from a much different vantage point this time. It has nuclear weapons. It also possesses the means to deliver them, most certainly to South Korea and Japan and possibly even the US West Coast. The dynamics are changed, and not to the advantage of the US or its South Korean ally. Moreover, the North&rsquo;s young and ruthless leader &mdash; he ordered the assassination of his half-brother and execution of family members perceived as disloyal or threatening &mdash; has threatened to use them, including against the US. Possessing these weapons with the means to deliver them empowers Kim as never before, giving him leverage his grandfather and father could only have dreamed of. What does he want?&nbsp;

What Kim Jong-un wants

The consensus appears to be that Kim wants the US out of the Korean Peninsula &mdash; i.e., to sever what has been one of Washington&rsquo;s most important alliances with South Korea. Undoubtedly, there are other interests &mdash; official recognition, economic ties with the US and other major economic powers &mdash; besides China, which have taken a hit as of late due to increased sanctions, and the opportunity to appear one-on-one on the world stage with the leader of the world&rsquo;s superpower. There he&rsquo;ll be able to say to the American president, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got what you&rsquo;ve got, now let&rsquo;s talk!&rdquo;&nbsp;

This is not a position that a US president has faced since the arms negotiations of the 1970s with the Soviet Union, which roughly qualified as an &ldquo;equal.&rdquo; Nuclear weapons have handed the leader of an impoverished, isolated police state the dream of every dictator: gravitas, respectability and the attention of the U.S. and its president.

Heretofore, Kim has made clear he will not give up his new-found leverage&hellip; ever. This may be mere posturing, but one must still ask: Is he really willing to rid his nation of its nuclear weapons, missiles and supporting infrastructure? And the answer is, only if he gets what he wants&hellip; maybe&nbsp;

Meeting of unknown minds

Further obfuscating an accurate reading of this announced gathering is the personalities of the two principals. In past summits between an American president and his counterpart from any nation, senior State Department and National Security Council officials and experts conducted extensive pre-meeting negotiations so that the main event would be almost a mere formality &mdash; i.e., the handshakes, signings, banquets, toasts and photo ops. Pre-meetings are intended to sort out major issues, identify obstacles, reach preliminary understandings and ensure the ultimate encounter between principals is a satisfactory one. But that hasn&rsquo;t happened this time, presumably at all.

Instead, these talks will be in the hands of two erratic and unpredictable leaders who are not likely to fully and accurately understand the other or the issues and implications. Nor will the issues have been tackled in advance by senior experts. That&rsquo;s a risk.

For his part, Donald Trump places far too much stock in his innate abilities, soi-disant high-functioning gut instincts and business acumen, qualities that have earned him the Oval Office and the unflagging support of a core following within the Republican Party. He places little trust in the expertise and counsel of experts around him. That&rsquo;s a further complicating risk. Luckily for Americans and South Koreans, the more sober-minded South Korean President Moon won&rsquo;t be far away, one presumes, and should help keep the American tethered. Or at least, Americans and South Koreans can hope.

Kim, on the other hand, will face an American president he knows only from media reports and biased and censored information from his eager-to-please intelligence service, loath to tell him anything he may not wish to hear, less they suffer the fate of other disloyal minions. It&rsquo;s impossible to know his mindset in the run-up to this meeting.

All this suggests that despite whatever happy talk emerges from this summit of shock, concrete results may be lacking and, in any event, suspect. It will depend on one ineluctable fact: What is on the mind of Kim Jong-un? For that, the world must place its trust and hopes in an untested, inexperienced president, whose own mind remains a mystery.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

*Gary Grappo is a former US ambassador and a distinguished fellow at the Center for Middle East Studies at the Korbel School for International Studies, University of Denver. 
&nbsp;

The <a href="rel=" target="blank">article</a> was originally published in <a href="https://www.fairobserver.com/">Fair Observer</a>

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;

Can the world expect substantive achievements to come out of the meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong, who will face each other they know only from media reports and biased information from their eager-to-please intelligence services?

By Gary Grappo* The world can be forgiven for having been whipsawed by Washington’s announcement on March 8 that President Donald Trump will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The revelation came after briefings at the White House for the US administration by South Korean officials following South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s dispatch of a delegation to Pyongyang for talks with their North Korean counterparts. Those meetings resulted in the invitation from Chairman Kim for the meeting between President Trump and him. No sitting US president has ever met with a North Korean leader. (Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton did but only after leaving office.) The jolting realization that this may now take place — tentatively scheduled for May — with a sitting US president who has variously threatened, taunted and excoriated Kim has the foreign policy intelligentsia and US public both flummoxed and leery, and probably just a bit anxious. Is Donald Trump — both famous and infamous for his much touted deal-making skills, but also notorious for ignorance of complex foreign policy issues and lack of interest in educating himself — really up to this? Let’s remember, we are talking about two leaders who have both bragged about their nuclear weapons and threatened to use them. Credit goes to South Korea’s President Moon for recognizing and capitalizing on the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic games to encourage North-South dialog. Especially noteworthy is his recognition that any such proposed talks between Trump and Kim would be dead on arrival in Washington without the North’s agreement to discuss the “d” word: denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Hoping the past isn't prelude Let’s return to reality. In the past, negotiations have been a tried and true tactic of the North Koreans to extract what they need from the US and the West, only to restart nuclear and missile testing when they got what they wanted. Invariably, their nuclear strategy proceeded almost unabated. The US and its various negotiating partners, including South Korea, China and Japan, have all had the carpet pulled out from under them every time they’ve attempted to negotiate with Pyongyang, including the most recent and short lived in early 2012. North Korea had pledged not to launch satellites in exchange for US and other Western aid. The agreement was abrogated when the North launched a satellite a few short months later to celebrate the centennial birthdate of the country’s founder, Kim Il-Sung. And so it has gone, dating back at least to 1993. Ditto on agreements with South Korea, the UN and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Can we expect this time to be any different? The North is negotiating from a much different vantage point this time. It has nuclear weapons. It also possesses the means to deliver them, most certainly to South Korea and Japan and possibly even the US West Coast. The dynamics are changed, and not to the advantage of the US or its South Korean ally. Moreover, the North’s young and ruthless leader — he ordered the assassination of his half-brother and execution of family members perceived as disloyal or threatening — has threatened to use them, including against the US. Possessing these weapons with the means to deliver them empowers Kim as never before, giving him leverage his grandfather and father could only have dreamed of. What does he want? What Kim Jong-un wants The consensus appears to be that Kim wants the US out of the Korean Peninsula — i.e., to sever what has been one of Washington’s most important alliances with South Korea. Undoubtedly, there are other interests — official recognition, economic ties with the US and other major economic powers — besides China, which have taken a hit as of late due to increased sanctions, and the opportunity to appear one-on-one on the world stage with the leader of the world’s superpower. There he’ll be able to say to the American president, “I’ve got what you’ve got, now let’s talk!” This is not a position that a US president has faced since the arms negotiations of the 1970s with the Soviet Union, which roughly qualified as an “equal.” Nuclear weapons have handed the leader of an impoverished, isolated police state the dream of every dictator: gravitas, respectability and the attention of the U.S. and its president. Heretofore, Kim has made clear he will not give up his new-found leverage… ever. This may be mere posturing, but one must still ask: Is he really willing to rid his nation of its nuclear weapons, missiles and supporting infrastructure? And the answer is, only if he gets what he wants… maybe Meeting of unknown minds Further obfuscating an accurate reading of this announced gathering is the personalities of the two principals. In past summits between an American president and his counterpart from any nation, senior State Department and National Security Council officials and experts conducted extensive pre-meeting negotiations so that the main event would be almost a mere formality — i.e., the handshakes, signings, banquets, toasts and photo ops. Pre-meetings are intended to sort out major issues, identify obstacles, reach preliminary understandings and ensure the ultimate encounter between principals is a satisfactory one. But that hasn’t happened this time, presumably at all. Instead, these talks will be in the hands of two erratic and unpredictable leaders who are not likely to fully and accurately understand the other or the issues and implications. Nor will the issues have been tackled in advance by senior experts. That’s a risk. For his part, Donald Trump places far too much stock in his innate abilities, soi-disant high-functioning gut instincts and business acumen, qualities that have earned him the Oval Office and the unflagging support of a core following within the Republican Party. He places little trust in the expertise and counsel of experts around him. That’s a further complicating risk. Luckily for Americans and South Koreans, the more sober-minded South Korean President Moon won’t be far away, one presumes, and should help keep the American tethered. Or at least, Americans and South Koreans can hope. Kim, on the other hand, will face an American president he knows only from media reports and biased and censored information from his eager-to-please intelligence service, loath to tell him anything he may not wish to hear, less they suffer the fate of other disloyal minions. It’s impossible to know his mindset in the run-up to this meeting. All this suggests that despite whatever happy talk emerges from this summit of shock, concrete results may be lacking and, in any event, suspect. It will depend on one ineluctable fact: What is on the mind of Kim Jong-un? For that, the world must place its trust and hopes in an untested, inexperienced president, whose own mind remains a mystery. *Gary Grappo is a former US ambassador and a distinguished fellow at the Center for Middle East Studies at the Korbel School for International Studies, University of Denver. The article was originally published in Fair Observer (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Sneak-peek into Kim Jong's unpredictable mind before meeting Trump

Slovakia&#39;s Henrieta Farkasova won the first gold medal of the Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics on Saturday in women&#39;s vision impaired downhill skiing.

Farkasova and her guide Natalia Subrtova finished in 1min 29.72 sec, beating second-placed Millie Knight of Britain and her guide Brett Wild by 0.86 sec.

It was the Slovakian&#39;s sixth Paralympic gold in vision impaired skiing. Belgium&#39;s Eleonor took the bronze medal, finishing the course in 1min 31.60 sec.

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What. A. Run. Henrieta Farkasova of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SVK?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SVK</a> claims the first ???? of the Games! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PyeongChang2018?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PyeongChang2018</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Paralympics?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Paralympics</a> <a href="https://t.co/V0kw7FV9Ak">pic.twitter.com/V0kw7FV9Ak</a>
&mdash; Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) <a href="https://twitter.com/Paralympics/status/972281404703649793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics were officially opened on Friday night with a glittering ceremony, that included fireworks and light shows.

North Korea took centre stage at the ceremony.&nbsp;

Pyongyang is sending its first ever athletes, two cross-country skiers, to take part in a Winter Paralympics, the last stage of rapprochement with the South that began at last month&#39;s Winter Olympics.

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Farkasova and her guide Natalia Subrtova finished in 1min 29.72 sec, beating second-placed Millie Knight of Britain and her guide Brett Wild by 0.86 sec

Slovakia's Henrieta Farkasova won the first gold medal of the Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics on Saturday in women's vision impaired downhill skiing. Farkasova and her guide Natalia Subrtova finished in 1min 29.72 sec, beating second-placed Millie Knight of Britain and her guide Brett Wild by 0.86 sec. It was the Slovakian's sixth Paralympic gold in vision impaired skiing. Belgium's Eleonor took the bronze medal, finishing the course in 1min 31.60 sec. What. A. Run. Henrieta Farkasova of #SVK claims the first ???? of the Games! #PyeongChang2018 #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/V0kw7FV9Ak — Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) March 10, 2018 × The Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics were officially opened on Friday night with a glittering ceremony, that included fireworks and light shows. North Korea took centre stage at the ceremony. Pyongyang is sending its first ever athletes, two cross-country skiers, to take part in a Winter Paralympics, the last stage of rapprochement with the South that began at last month's Winter Olympics.

Slovakia's Henrieta Farkasova wins first gold of Winter Paralympics

The 2018 Winter Paralympics which is officially known as the XII Paralympic Winter Games and commonly known as the <a href="https://g.co/doodle/pmjaqg">2018 PyeongChang Paralympics</a> is set to start from today with the glitzy and glamorous opening ceremony.

Winter Paralympics is an international winter multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities. It is scheduled to be held in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Province, South Korea, from 9 to 18 March 2018.

It is governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

Pyeongchang launched its third consecutive bid to&nbsp;win the hosting rights of Winter Olympic and&nbsp;<a href="https://g.co/doodle/pmjaqg">Paralympic Games</a>.&nbsp;It will be the first Winter Paralympics held in South Korea.

Recently, the mega sporting event, Winter Olympic 2018, was concluded successfully by South Korea.

Alpine skiing, Biathlon, Cross-country skiing, Ice sledge hockey, snowboarding and wheelchair curling are the games that will be included in the 2018 Winter Paralympics.

PyeongChang will be the stage for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and most snow sports.

Alpine skiing events will take place in Jeongseon, and all ice sports will be played in the coastal city of Gangneung.

&nbsp;

The 2018 Winter Paralympics is scheduled to take place in Pyeongchang County, South Korea from 9 to 18 March 2018

The 2018 Winter Paralympics which is officially known as the XII Paralympic Winter Games and commonly known as the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympics is set to start from today with the glitzy and glamorous opening ceremony. Winter Paralympics is an international winter multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities. It is scheduled to be held in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Province, South Korea, from 9 to 18 March 2018. It is governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Pyeongchang launched its third consecutive bid to win the hosting rights of Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. It will be the first Winter Paralympics held in South Korea. Recently, the mega sporting event, Winter Olympic 2018, was concluded successfully by South Korea. Alpine skiing, Biathlon, Cross-country skiing, Ice sledge hockey, snowboarding and wheelchair curling are the games that will be included in the 2018 Winter Paralympics. PyeongChang will be the stage for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and most snow sports. Alpine skiing events will take place in Jeongseon, and all ice sports will be played in the coastal city of Gangneung.

Google celebrates 2018 Winter Paralympics kick off

The dramatic developments in the Korean Peninsula, over the last few weeks, read like pages of a racy thriller. In a span of just two months, the breeze of d&eacute;tente instead bugle of conflict, has begun to blow. Gone are the threats of death and destruction, replaced by the soothing sound of dialogue, peace and reason. No wonder the Korean theatre has always had observers rivetted.

Consider the following. Out of the blue on January 1, Kim Jong-un (KJU) offered to South Korea (ROK) talks and participation in PyeongChang winter Olympics. The latter acted with equal alacrity and, within weeks, the North and South teams were seen marching together under a common unification flag.&nbsp;

Next, in a deft move, KJU despatched his younger sister Kim Yo-jong with a personal letter of invite to President Moon, for a summit meeting. In the process, she became the first member of the Kim clan to set foot on the South Korean soil. In no time, she had South Koreans swooning over her &lsquo;poise, smile, simplicity, dignity&rsquo; and numerous other accolades that the smitten media showered on her. She did not utter a word in public, shook hands with Vice President Pence and held a luncheon meeting with President Moon. It was a PR coup for Pyongyang.

No sooner had she gone back and the winter games ended that a return visit of ROK special envoys was announced. A five-member delegation led by NSA Chung Eui-yong and including the head of Korean CIA Suh Hoon, arrived in Pyongyang on 5th March.&nbsp;

They met the portly and reclusive North Korean leader over dinner. Hitherto, during his six-year rule, KJU had never emerged for a meeting with a visiting foreign leader or delegation. Setting aside protocol (as the guests were without their spouse) and contrary to Korean custom, KJU also had his wife participate in the dinner. He was clearly on a charm offensive towards his southern neighbour. An enigma herself, she has been a subject of unrelenting speculation in ROK. &nbsp;

The sides have since announced a summit at the end of April at the peace village in DMZ. North Korea (DPRK) now &lsquo;understands&rsquo; that the forthcoming US-ROK annual joint military exercise will take place. The visitors were assured that there would be no further provocations by DPRK, for the time being. And what&rsquo;s more, KJU agreed to unconditional talks with the US and even dangled the carrot of denuclearisation if his regime&rsquo;s security is guaranteed.&nbsp;

President Trump was prompt to tweet &ndash;&lsquo;Possible progress being made in talks with North Korea. For the first time in many years, a serious effort is being made by all parties concerned. The World is watching and waiting! Maybe false hope, but the U.S. is ready to go hard in either direction!&rsquo; USA and ROK have been trying to present a united facade, but they are far from being on the same page. Trump has little patience for diplomacy and Moon is wary of his temperamental American counterpart.&nbsp;

It may be recalled that quite recently North&rsquo;s official newspaper Rodong Sinmun had thundered &ndash; &lsquo;Hoping that the DPRK would abandon its nuclear programs is as foolish an act as trying to wish seas to get dried up&rsquo;. (Japan Times, March 5, 2018).&nbsp; KJU trusts no one and no nation, other than his WMD arsenal and own instincts, honed by three generations of Kims during their 65-year-long uninterrupted reign.&nbsp;

Pyongyang has also drawn the requisite lessons from the fate that had befallen Saddam Hussain and Qaddafi, one of which is that WMD is the insurance for survival. Thus, no security guarantee would be good enough for him.&nbsp;

Then why this huge climbdown? The noose of sanctions had begun to tighten. The squeeze had begun hurting DPRK&rsquo;s fragile economy. The nation&rsquo;s diplomatic isolation was growing. A number of countries had downgraded ties. The Chinese lifeline was becoming tenuous. Hence, there was an urgent need to deflect pressure, buy time and make a pitch for easing sanctions and humanitarian assistance. Somehow a wedge had to be driven between ROK and USA. And what better way than to offer a summit to President Moon, as no ROK leader can resist the temptation of making history.

All this sounds surreal? Yes, because it is indeed too good to be true. The only imponderable is whether the deceptive thaw will last weeks or months. Nevertheless, this round squarely goes to Kim Jong-un.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Kim Jong came up with an effective response to North Korea's urgent need to deflect pressure, buy time and make a pitch for easing sanctions and humanitarian assistance.

The dramatic developments in the Korean Peninsula, over the last few weeks, read like pages of a racy thriller. In a span of just two months, the breeze of détente instead bugle of conflict, has begun to blow. Gone are the threats of death and destruction, replaced by the soothing sound of dialogue, peace and reason. No wonder the Korean theatre has always had observers rivetted. Consider the following. Out of the blue on January 1, Kim Jong-un (KJU) offered to South Korea (ROK) talks and participation in PyeongChang winter Olympics. The latter acted with equal alacrity and, within weeks, the North and South teams were seen marching together under a common unification flag. Next, in a deft move, KJU despatched his younger sister Kim Yo-jong with a personal letter of invite to President Moon, for a summit meeting. In the process, she became the first member of the Kim clan to set foot on the South Korean soil. In no time, she had South Koreans swooning over her ‘poise, smile, simplicity, dignity’ and numerous other accolades that the smitten media showered on her. She did not utter a word in public, shook hands with Vice President Pence and held a luncheon meeting with President Moon. It was a PR coup for Pyongyang. No sooner had she gone back and the winter games ended that a return visit of ROK special envoys was announced. A five-member delegation led by NSA Chung Eui-yong and including the head of Korean CIA Suh Hoon, arrived in Pyongyang on 5th March. They met the portly and reclusive North Korean leader over dinner. Hitherto, during his six-year rule, KJU had never emerged for a meeting with a visiting foreign leader or delegation. Setting aside protocol (as the guests were without their spouse) and contrary to Korean custom, KJU also had his wife participate in the dinner. He was clearly on a charm offensive towards his southern neighbour. An enigma herself, she has been a subject of unrelenting speculation in ROK. The sides have since announced a summit at the end of April at the peace village in DMZ. North Korea (DPRK) now ‘understands’ that the forthcoming US-ROK annual joint military exercise will take place. The visitors were assured that there would be no further provocations by DPRK, for the time being. And what’s more, KJU agreed to unconditional talks with the US and even dangled the carrot of denuclearisation if his regime’s security is guaranteed. President Trump was prompt to tweet –‘Possible progress being made in talks with North Korea. For the first time in many years, a serious effort is being made by all parties concerned. The World is watching and waiting! Maybe false hope, but the U.S. is ready to go hard in either direction!’ USA and ROK have been trying to present a united facade, but they are far from being on the same page. Trump has little patience for diplomacy and Moon is wary of his temperamental American counterpart. It may be recalled that quite recently North’s official newspaper Rodong Sinmun had thundered – ‘Hoping that the DPRK would abandon its nuclear programs is as foolish an act as trying to wish seas to get dried up’. (Japan Times, March 5, 2018). KJU trusts no one and no nation, other than his WMD arsenal and own instincts, honed by three generations of Kims during their 65-year-long uninterrupted reign. Pyongyang has also drawn the requisite lessons from the fate that had befallen Saddam Hussain and Qaddafi, one of which is that WMD is the insurance for survival. Thus, no security guarantee would be good enough for him. Then why this huge climbdown? The noose of sanctions had begun to tighten. The squeeze had begun hurting DPRK’s fragile economy. The nation’s diplomatic isolation was growing. A number of countries had downgraded ties. The Chinese lifeline was becoming tenuous. Hence, there was an urgent need to deflect pressure, buy time and make a pitch for easing sanctions and humanitarian assistance. Somehow a wedge had to be driven between ROK and USA. And what better way than to offer a summit to President Moon, as no ROK leader can resist the temptation of making history. All this sounds surreal? Yes, because it is indeed too good to be true. The only imponderable is whether the deceptive thaw will last weeks or months. Nevertheless, this round squarely goes to Kim Jong-un. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Kim Jong wins the first round against US, South Korea

In a move which could signal softening of US stand on North Korea, President Donald Trump said Kim&#39;s regime was &quot;sincere&quot;, asserting at the same time that sanctions were working against North Koreans.

Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office, the US president said &quot;statements coming out of South Korea and North Korea have been very positive.&quot;

&quot;I think that they are sincere. And I think they&#39;re sincere also because of the sanctions and what we&#39;re doing with respect to North Korea, including the great help that we&#39;ve been given from China,&quot; Trump said at a news conference.

The President tweeted later saying possible &quot;progress was being made on talks with North Korea&quot;, although cautioning that it &quot;may be false hope&quot; at the same time the president said the US is ready to &quot;go hard in either direction.&quot;

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Possible progress being made in talks with North Korea. For the first time in many years, a serious effort is being made by all parties concerned. The World is watching and waiting! May be false hope, but the U.S. is ready to go hard in either direction!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/971025582061424640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Trump met Sweden&#39;s PM Stefan Lofven who represents US interests in North Korea with both leaders cautiously optimistic over the recent peace moves by North Korea.

However, when pressed about preconditions on talks, Trump seemed non-committal, adding: &quot;I don&#39;t want to talk about it. We&#39;re going to see what happens.&quot;

PM Lofven expanding on his country&#39;s role said: &quot;It is not up to us to solve the problem but with our presence ... if the key actors ask us to help we can be there.&quot;

Even as the US continued to talk peace, Vice President Mike Pence who was recently in South Korea for the Winter Games and sat near to Kim&#39;s sister Kim Yo Young, declared that the United States would continue to apply &quot;maximum pressure&quot; on North Korea and that &quot;all options were on the table&quot;.

Meanwhile, Chung Eui- yong, head of the South Korean delegation who visited North Korea to continue the peace initiative said: &quot;North Korea made clear its willingness to denuclearize the Korean peninsula,&quot; adding that,&quot; the fact there is no reason for it to have a nuclear program if military threats against the North are resolved and its regime is secure.&quot;

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The US president said "statements coming out of South Korea and North Korea have been very positive."

In a move which could signal softening of US stand on North Korea, President Donald Trump said Kim's regime was "sincere", asserting at the same time that sanctions were working against North Koreans. Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office, the US president said "statements coming out of South Korea and North Korea have been very positive." "I think that they are sincere. And I think they're sincere also because of the sanctions and what we're doing with respect to North Korea, including the great help that we've been given from China," Trump said at a news conference. The President tweeted later saying possible "progress was being made on talks with North Korea", although cautioning that it "may be false hope" at the same time the president said the US is ready to "go hard in either direction." Possible progress being made in talks with North Korea. For the first time in many years, a serious effort is being made by all parties concerned. The World is watching and waiting! May be false hope, but the U.S. is ready to go hard in either direction! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 6, 2018 × Trump met Sweden's PM Stefan Lofven who represents US interests in North Korea with both leaders cautiously optimistic over the recent peace moves by North Korea. However, when pressed about preconditions on talks, Trump seemed non-committal, adding: "I don't want to talk about it. We're going to see what happens." PM Lofven expanding on his country's role said: "It is not up to us to solve the problem but with our presence ... if the key actors ask us to help we can be there." Even as the US continued to talk peace, Vice President Mike Pence who was recently in South Korea for the Winter Games and sat near to Kim's sister Kim Yo Young, declared that the United States would continue to apply "maximum pressure" on North Korea and that "all options were on the table". Meanwhile, Chung Eui- yong, head of the South Korean delegation who visited North Korea to continue the peace initiative said: "North Korea made clear its willingness to denuclearize the Korean peninsula," adding that," the fact there is no reason for it to have a nuclear program if military threats against the North are resolved and its regime is secure."

Possible progress made in talks with North Korea, tweets Trump

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Wednesday sanctions on North Korea will not be eased for the sake of a summit between the two sides as Chinese state media repeated Beijing&#39;s line that talks are the only way to end the nuclear standoff.

South Korean officials met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Monday in the first such encounter of its kind and said he had expressed his willingness to denuclearise if his country&#39;s security is assured.

And U.S. President Donald Trump said North Korea seems &quot;sincere&quot; in its apparent willingness to suspend nuclear tests if it holds denuclearisation talks with the United States.

Tensions rose to the highest level in years over North Korea&rsquo;s nuclear and missile programmes, which it pursues in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions, with shrill, bellicose rhetoric coming from both Kim Jong Un and Trump.

North Korea has boasted of its plans to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the mainland United States. But fears of all-out war eased last month, coinciding with North Korea&#39;s participation in the Winter Olympics in the South.

&quot;From looking at the news or Twitter, I believe President Trump is positive about the results of the North Korea visit (by South Korean officials),&quot; Moon told political party leaders.

&quot;However, as this is just the beginning, I believe we are not at a situation yet where we can be optimistic.&quot;

Moon added he had no plans for an easing of sanctions.

&quot;Just because there are talks ongoing between North and South Korea doesn&#39;t mean international sanctions can be eased,&quot; said Moon. &quot;There cannot be an arbitrary easing of sanctions; we do not wish to do that and I tell you now it is impossible.&quot;

South Korea&#39;s goal was the denuclearisation of North Korea, nothing less, said Moon in comments distributed by the Blue House.

&quot;We cannot have things like the prevention of nuclear proliferation or a moratorium as a final goal,&quot; said Moon.

North and South Korea are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The North defends its weapons programmes as necessary to counter U.S. aggression. The South hosts 28,500 U.S. troops, a legacy of the war.

North and South next month will have the first meeting between their leaders since 2007 at the border village of Panmunjom, Chung Eui-yong, head of the South Korean delegation, said on Tuesday.

Leaders around the world have also met the apparent breakthrough with guarded optimism, wary of repeating past negotiations that failed to prevent Pyongyang from developing nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

On-again off-again &quot;six-party&quot; talks, grouping the two Koreas, Japan, Russia and the United States and hosted by China, ended in failure in 2009, with North Korea criticising U.S. aggression.

South Korean officials who met the North Korean leader will leave for Washington on Thursday. Chung said he had a verbal message from Kim Jong Un that he will relay to U.S. officials but it was unclear whether he would meet Trump.

After returning from the United States, Chung will visit China and Russia, while Suh Hoon, the head of South Korea&#39;s intelligence agency, will head to Japan to brief officials.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office the United States had &quot;come a long way, at least rhetorically&quot; with North Korea and &quot;statements coming out of South Korea and North Korea have been very positive&quot;.

Asked if he had any preconditions for talks, Trump said: &quot;I don&#39;t want to talk about it. We&#39;re going to see what happens.&quot;

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said the United States would continue to apply &quot;maximum pressure&quot; on North Korea and that all options were &quot;on the table&quot; until Washington sees evidence Pyongyang is taking steps towards denuclearisation.

Keeping up the pressure, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday it had determined Pyongyang used the chemical warfare agent VX to assassinate Kim Jong Un&#39;s half-brother in Malaysia in 2017 and had imposed sanctions in response. This information had already come out in court in Malaysia.

Chinese state-run tabloid the Global Times published an editorial saying the Korean nuclear issue cannot be solved without China, Russia and the U.N. Security Council.

&ldquo;The reality is that North Korea now has an intercontinental ballistic missile that can allegedly hit targets in the U.S.,&rdquo; the paper wrote. &ldquo;No one can intimidate anyone. Negotiation is the only way out.&quot;

Markets reacted positively to the prospect of talks and a lowering in geopolitical tensions.

Shares in South Korean companies with exposure to North Korea rallied on signs of a thaw in relations, while companies in the defence market saw their shares dip.

South Korean officials met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Monday in the first such encounter of its kind and said he had expressed his willingness to denuclearise if his country's security is assured

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Wednesday sanctions on North Korea will not be eased for the sake of a summit between the two sides as Chinese state media repeated Beijing's line that talks are the only way to end the nuclear standoff. South Korean officials met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Monday in the first such encounter of its kind and said he had expressed his willingness to denuclearise if his country's security is assured. And U.S. President Donald Trump said North Korea seems "sincere" in its apparent willingness to suspend nuclear tests if it holds denuclearisation talks with the United States. Tensions rose to the highest level in years over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes, which it pursues in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions, with shrill, bellicose rhetoric coming from both Kim Jong Un and Trump. North Korea has boasted of its plans to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the mainland United States. But fears of all-out war eased last month, coinciding with North Korea's participation in the Winter Olympics in the South. "From looking at the news or Twitter, I believe President Trump is positive about the results of the North Korea visit (by South Korean officials)," Moon told political party leaders. "However, as this is just the beginning, I believe we are not at a situation yet where we can be optimistic." Moon added he had no plans for an easing of sanctions. "Just because there are talks ongoing between North and South Korea doesn't mean international sanctions can be eased," said Moon. "There cannot be an arbitrary easing of sanctions; we do not wish to do that and I tell you now it is impossible." South Korea's goal was the denuclearisation of North Korea, nothing less, said Moon in comments distributed by the Blue House. "We cannot have things like the prevention of nuclear proliferation or a moratorium as a final goal," said Moon. North and South Korea are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The North defends its weapons programmes as necessary to counter U.S. aggression. The South hosts 28,500 U.S. troops, a legacy of the war. North and South next month will have the first meeting between their leaders since 2007 at the border village of Panmunjom, Chung Eui-yong, head of the South Korean delegation, said on Tuesday. Leaders around the world have also met the apparent breakthrough with guarded optimism, wary of repeating past negotiations that failed to prevent Pyongyang from developing nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles. On-again off-again "six-party" talks, grouping the two Koreas, Japan, Russia and the United States and hosted by China, ended in failure in 2009, with North Korea criticising U.S. aggression. South Korean officials who met the North Korean leader will leave for Washington on Thursday. Chung said he had a verbal message from Kim Jong Un that he will relay to U.S. officials but it was unclear whether he would meet Trump. After returning from the United States, Chung will visit China and Russia, while Suh Hoon, the head of South Korea's intelligence agency, will head to Japan to brief officials. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office the United States had "come a long way, at least rhetorically" with North Korea and "statements coming out of South Korea and North Korea have been very positive". Asked if he had any preconditions for talks, Trump said: "I don't want to talk about it. We're going to see what happens." U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said the United States would continue to apply "maximum pressure" on North Korea and that all options were "on the table" until Washington sees evidence Pyongyang is taking steps towards denuclearisation. Keeping up the pressure, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday it had determined Pyongyang used the chemical warfare agent VX to assassinate Kim Jong Un's half-brother in Malaysia in 2017 and had imposed sanctions in response. This information had already come out in court in Malaysia. Chinese state-run tabloid the Global Times published an editorial saying the Korean nuclear issue cannot be solved without China, Russia and the U.N. Security Council. “The reality is that North Korea now has an intercontinental ballistic missile that can allegedly hit targets in the U.S.,” the paper wrote. “No one can intimidate anyone. Negotiation is the only way out." Markets reacted positively to the prospect of talks and a lowering in geopolitical tensions. Shares in South Korean companies with exposure to North Korea rallied on signs of a thaw in relations, while companies in the defence market saw their shares dip.

South Korea's Moon says sanctions on North to stay, too early to be optimistic

The South Korean <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/in-new-peace-initiative-after-winter-olympics-south-korean-officials-leave-for-north-korea-34722">delegation which had left for North Korea </a>on Monday headed by Chung Eui-yong, head of the presidential national security met Kim Jong Un as the North Korean leader expressed the hope to ease military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

&quot;Hearing the intention of President Moon Jae In for a summit from the special envoy of the south side, he exchanged views and made a satisfactory agreement,&quot; North Korea&#39;s state-run official news agency KCNA said.

In the past one month both nations have come closer as a result of the Winter Games which recently concluded in Pyeongchang, South Korea as North Korea sent Kim&#39;s sister Kim Yo Jong in an attempt to broker peace between the two neighbours.

&quot;It is Kim&#39;s firm will to vigorously advance inter-Korean ties and pursue reunification,&quot; KCNA said.

&quot;He also made an exchange of in-depth views on the issues for easing the acute military tensions on the Korean Peninsula and activating the versatile dialogue, contact, cooperation and exchange,&quot; the report said.

Kim&#39;s discussions with the South Korean delegation lasted more than four hours, and included dinner at the North&#39;s ruling Workers Party headquarters in Pyongyang.

The Winter Olympics provided &quot;a good atmosphere of reconciliation, unity and dialogue between the north and the south,&quot; KCNA quoted Kim Jong Un as saying.

The issue of denuclearisation of the North Korea, a contentious issue which the US has been harping upon for months wasn&#39;t touched upon during the meeting. North Korea has repeatedly said it won&#39;t give up its nuclear programme and would maintain a level of deterrence.

However, the South Koreans are cautiously optimistic Kim can be convinced to slowly part with his nuclear ambition as they pursue peace in the region.

Kim's discussions with the South Korean delegation lasted more than four hours,

The South Korean delegation which had left for North Korea on Monday headed by Chung Eui-yong, head of the presidential national security met Kim Jong Un as the North Korean leader expressed the hope to ease military tensions on the Korean Peninsula. "Hearing the intention of President Moon Jae In for a summit from the special envoy of the south side, he exchanged views and made a satisfactory agreement," North Korea's state-run official news agency KCNA said. In the past one month both nations have come closer as a result of the Winter Games which recently concluded in Pyeongchang, South Korea as North Korea sent Kim's sister Kim Yo Jong in an attempt to broker peace between the two neighbours. "It is Kim's firm will to vigorously advance inter-Korean ties and pursue reunification," KCNA said. "He also made an exchange of in-depth views on the issues for easing the acute military tensions on the Korean Peninsula and activating the versatile dialogue, contact, cooperation and exchange," the report said. Kim's discussions with the South Korean delegation lasted more than four hours, and included dinner at the North's ruling Workers Party headquarters in Pyongyang. The Winter Olympics provided "a good atmosphere of reconciliation, unity and dialogue between the north and the south," KCNA quoted Kim Jong Un as saying. The issue of denuclearisation of the North Korea, a contentious issue which the US has been harping upon for months wasn't touched upon during the meeting. North Korea has repeatedly said it won't give up its nuclear programme and would maintain a level of deterrence. However, the South Koreans are cautiously optimistic Kim can be convinced to slowly part with his nuclear ambition as they pursue peace in the region.

North Korea ready for 'inter-Korean ties and pursue reunification', says Kim during meeting with South Korean delegation

A former South Korean presidential contender stepped down as a provincial governor today and announced his retirement from politics after a secretary accused him of multiple rapes.

The resignation of Ahn Hee-jung -- who came second to Moon Jae-in in the contest to select the Democratic Party&#39;s presidential candidate last year -- makes him the latest and most prominent figure in a swirling #MeToo movement in what is still a male-dominated society.

One of his secretaries told a television interviewer on Monday that he had raped her four times since hiring her in June.

Kim Ji-eun told JTBC that the last straw came when Ahn called her into his office on the night of February 25 and apologised for having hurt her, talking about the country&#39;s ongoing #MeToo movement.

&quot;And then he raped me again,&quot; she said, sighing and holding back tears.

She also accused Ahn of sexually assaulting others and said she would file a criminal complaint against him today.

Following the TV interview, the ruling Democratic Party held an emergency meeting and expelled Ahn with immediate effect.

Hours later, Ahn, 52, announced his resignation as governor of South Chungcheong Province and retirement from public life.

&quot;I apologise to everyone, especially to Miss Kim Ji-eun,&quot; he said in a Facebook post.

In the Democratic Party&#39;s process to select its presidential candidate last year, Ahn was runner-up to Moon, who went on to win the election in May.

Ahn had been tipped as a front-runner among liberal presidential hopefuls to succeed Moon -- who can only serve one term -- with South Korean conservatives reeling from the massive corruption scandal that led to the ouster of former president Park Geun-hye.

Moon last month threw his support behind the #MeToo campaign spreading across the country, urging measures to combat the widespread abuse of women and punish offenders.

A growing number of South Korean women have accused prominent figures of sexual abuse, making headlines in a country that remains deeply conservative despite economic and technological advances.

One of his secretaries told a television interviewer on Monday that he had raped her four times since hiring her in June

A former South Korean presidential contender stepped down as a provincial governor today and announced his retirement from politics after a secretary accused him of multiple rapes. The resignation of Ahn Hee-jung -- who came second to Moon Jae-in in the contest to select the Democratic Party's presidential candidate last year -- makes him the latest and most prominent figure in a swirling #MeToo movement in what is still a male-dominated society. One of his secretaries told a television interviewer on Monday that he had raped her four times since hiring her in June. Kim Ji-eun told JTBC that the last straw came when Ahn called her into his office on the night of February 25 and apologised for having hurt her, talking about the country's ongoing #MeToo movement. "And then he raped me again," she said, sighing and holding back tears. She also accused Ahn of sexually assaulting others and said she would file a criminal complaint against him today. Following the TV interview, the ruling Democratic Party held an emergency meeting and expelled Ahn with immediate effect. Hours later, Ahn, 52, announced his resignation as governor of South Chungcheong Province and retirement from public life. "I apologise to everyone, especially to Miss Kim Ji-eun," he said in a Facebook post. In the Democratic Party's process to select its presidential candidate last year, Ahn was runner-up to Moon, who went on to win the election in May. Ahn had been tipped as a front-runner among liberal presidential hopefuls to succeed Moon -- who can only serve one term -- with South Korean conservatives reeling from the massive corruption scandal that led to the ouster of former president Park Geun-hye. Moon last month threw his support behind the #MeToo campaign spreading across the country, urging measures to combat the widespread abuse of women and punish offenders. A growing number of South Korean women have accused prominent figures of sexual abuse, making headlines in a country that remains deeply conservative despite economic and technological advances.

South Korean presidential hopeful quits after rape accusation

North Korea is open to denuclearisation if the safety of Kim Jong Un&rsquo;s regime is guaranteed, a South Korean official said Tuesday.

South Korea&rsquo;s special envoy Chung Eui-Yong told reporters of the regime&rsquo;s new stance after returning to Seoul from Pyongyang.

The comments came hours after a South Korean delegation led by Mr Chung returned from a visit to the North, where they met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korea and South Korea will hold a summit at the end of April along the border, Chung said.&nbsp;

The envoy also said Kim was willing to hold frank denuclearisation talks with the US.

The envoy said Kim was willing to hold frank denuclearization talks with the US.

North Korea is open to denuclearisation if the safety of Kim Jong Un’s regime is guaranteed, a South Korean official said Tuesday. South Korea’s special envoy Chung Eui-Yong told reporters of the regime’s new stance after returning to Seoul from Pyongyang. The comments came hours after a South Korean delegation led by Mr Chung returned from a visit to the North, where they met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea and South Korea will hold a summit at the end of April along the border, Chung said. The envoy also said Kim was willing to hold frank denuclearisation talks with the US.

No need for nuclear weapons if we have security guarantee: North Korea

The leaders of North and South Korea will hold a historic summit in the Demilitarized Zone next month after Pyongyang expressed willingness to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees, Seoul said Tuesday.

The North is open to &quot;frank&quot; talks with the United States on denuclearisation and would suspend missile and nuclear tests while dialogue was under way, the South&#39;s national security adviser Chung Eui-yong said after returning from a meeting in Pyongyang with leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korea is subject to multiple rounds of UN Security Council sanctions over its atomic and ballistic missile programmes, and has long insisted that its &quot;treasured sword&quot; is not up for negotiation.&nbsp;

But it is willing to abandon the programmes if its national security -- and that of its leadership -- is guaranteed, Chung said.&nbsp;

That remains a high threshold -- Pyongyang has considered itself at risk of invasion by the United States since the Korean War ended in a ceasefire in 1953, leaving the two sides technically still at war.

But, Chung said, Kim is willing to discuss denuclearisation in talks with Washington -- which could be the crucial concession needed to enable a dialogue to happen.

The US has long insisted that Pyongyang take concrete steps towards denuclearisation as a precondition.

Tuesday&#39;s developments are the latest steps in a rapid Olympics-driven rapprochement on the peninsula. They follow a year of high tensions during which Pyongyang carried out its most powerful nuclear test to date, along with multiple missile launches, including rockets capable of reaching the US mainland.

Kim and US President Donald Trump traded personal insults and threats of war, sending fears of conflict spiralling.

But the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the South triggered an apparent transformation, with Kim sending his sister to the opening ceremony and sparking a flurry of cross-border trips as South Korean President Moon Jae-in tries to broker talks between Pyongyang and Washington.

North and South agreed to hold a summit in late April in Panmunjom, the truce village in the DMZ, Chung said after leading the most senior delegation to travel North for more than a decade.

It will be the third meeting between the leaders of North and South, but the first to take place in the DMZ after summits in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007.

The North &quot;made clear that there is no reason to own nuclear (weapons) if military threats towards the North are cleared and the safety of its regime is guaranteed&quot;, Chung said.&nbsp;

Pyongyang &quot;expressed willingness to have frank dialogue with the US to discuss the denuclearisation issue and to normalise North-US relations,&quot; he added, and said there would be no provocations such as nuclear or ballistic missile tests while dialogue was under way.

&quot;Also, the North promised not to use atomic weapons or conventional weapons towards the South,&quot; he told reporters, adding that Seoul and Pyongyang would set up a hotline between the leaders.

Kim said he would &quot;understand&quot; if the South goes ahead with delayed joint military exercises with the US that usually infuriate Pyongyang, a senior official at the South&#39;s presidential office added.

&#39;Very important breakthrough&#39; 
The envoys&#39; visit had produced &quot;a very important breakthrough&quot;, said Cheong Seong Chang of Sejong Institute think tank, calling the results &quot;an important first step towards stably managing the North&#39;s nuclear and missile threats, preventing war on the Korean peninsula and building political and military trust&quot;.&nbsp;

He cautioned that the definition of &quot;military threats&quot; the North wanted to see removed was &quot;up for interpretation&quot;, but said he believed Washington and Pyongyang &quot;would soon begin serious dialogue&quot;.&nbsp;

But previous negotiations have ultimately foundered. Six-party talks, grouping the two Koreas, Russia, China, Japan and the US, and offering the North security and economic benefits in exchange for denuclearisation, broke down almost a decade ago.

North Korean state media pictures of the delegation&#39;s meeting with Kim in Pyongyang -- which Seoul said lasted more than four hours -- showed the North&#39;s leader in &nbsp;jovial mood, smiling and shaking hands enthusiastically.

&quot;Hearing the intention of President Moon Jae-In for a summit from the special envoy of the south side, he exchanged views and made a satisfactory agreement,&quot; the North&#39;s official news agency KCNA said earlier.

Rodong Sinmun newspaper, the mouthpiece of the ruling Workers Party, devoted its entire front page Tuesday to the visit.

The Seoul representatives&#39; trip came after the North&#39;s leader sent his sister to the Winter Games in the South and invited Moon to a summit in Pyongyang.

Kim Yo Jong&#39;s trip was the first to the South by a member of the North&#39;s ruling dynasty since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Her appearance at the Games&#39; opening ceremony -- where athletes from the two Koreas marched together -- made global headlines.

At the time Moon did not accept the invitation to a summit, saying that the &quot;right conditions&quot; were needed.

The South&#39;s envoys will travel to Washington on Wednesday to brief US officials on their discussions in Pyongyang.

It could be a challenging task -- Trump has dubbed Kim &quot;Little Rocket Man&quot; and boasted about the size of his nuclear button, while the North Korean leader called the American president a &quot;mentally deranged US dotard&quot;.&nbsp;

The news was confirmed by South Korea's presidential office

The leaders of North and South Korea will hold a historic summit in the Demilitarized Zone next month after Pyongyang expressed willingness to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees, Seoul said Tuesday. The North is open to "frank" talks with the United States on denuclearisation and would suspend missile and nuclear tests while dialogue was under way, the South's national security adviser Chung Eui-yong said after returning from a meeting in Pyongyang with leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea is subject to multiple rounds of UN Security Council sanctions over its atomic and ballistic missile programmes, and has long insisted that its "treasured sword" is not up for negotiation. But it is willing to abandon the programmes if its national security -- and that of its leadership -- is guaranteed, Chung said. That remains a high threshold -- Pyongyang has considered itself at risk of invasion by the United States since the Korean War ended in a ceasefire in 1953, leaving the two sides technically still at war. But, Chung said, Kim is willing to discuss denuclearisation in talks with Washington -- which could be the crucial concession needed to enable a dialogue to happen. The US has long insisted that Pyongyang take concrete steps towards denuclearisation as a precondition. Tuesday's developments are the latest steps in a rapid Olympics-driven rapprochement on the peninsula. They follow a year of high tensions during which Pyongyang carried out its most powerful nuclear test to date, along with multiple missile launches, including rockets capable of reaching the US mainland. Kim and US President Donald Trump traded personal insults and threats of war, sending fears of conflict spiralling. But the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the South triggered an apparent transformation, with Kim sending his sister to the opening ceremony and sparking a flurry of cross-border trips as South Korean President Moon Jae-in tries to broker talks between Pyongyang and Washington. North and South agreed to hold a summit in late April in Panmunjom, the truce village in the DMZ, Chung said after leading the most senior delegation to travel North for more than a decade. It will be the third meeting between the leaders of North and South, but the first to take place in the DMZ after summits in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007. The North "made clear that there is no reason to own nuclear (weapons) if military threats towards the North are cleared and the safety of its regime is guaranteed", Chung said. Pyongyang "expressed willingness to have frank dialogue with the US to discuss the denuclearisation issue and to normalise North-US relations," he added, and said there would be no provocations such as nuclear or ballistic missile tests while dialogue was under way. "Also, the North promised not to use atomic weapons or conventional weapons towards the South," he told reporters, adding that Seoul and Pyongyang would set up a hotline between the leaders. Kim said he would "understand" if the South goes ahead with delayed joint military exercises with the US that usually infuriate Pyongyang, a senior official at the South's presidential office added. 'Very important breakthrough' The envoys' visit had produced "a very important breakthrough", said Cheong Seong Chang of Sejong Institute think tank, calling the results "an important first step towards stably managing the North's nuclear and missile threats, preventing war on the Korean peninsula and building political and military trust". He cautioned that the definition of "military threats" the North wanted to see removed was "up for interpretation", but said he believed Washington and Pyongyang "would soon begin serious dialogue". But previous negotiations have ultimately foundered. Six-party talks, grouping the two Koreas, Russia, China, Japan and the US, and offering the North security and economic benefits in exchange for denuclearisation, broke down almost a decade ago. North Korean state media pictures of the delegation's meeting with Kim in Pyongyang -- which Seoul said lasted more than four hours -- showed the North's leader in jovial mood, smiling and shaking hands enthusiastically. "Hearing the intention of President Moon Jae-In for a summit from the special envoy of the south side, he exchanged views and made a satisfactory agreement," the North's official news agency KCNA said earlier. Rodong Sinmun newspaper, the mouthpiece of the ruling Workers Party, devoted its entire front page Tuesday to the visit. The Seoul representatives' trip came after the North's leader sent his sister to the Winter Games in the South and invited Moon to a summit in Pyongyang. Kim Yo Jong's trip was the first to the South by a member of the North's ruling dynasty since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Her appearance at the Games' opening ceremony -- where athletes from the two Koreas marched together -- made global headlines. At the time Moon did not accept the invitation to a summit, saying that the "right conditions" were needed. The South's envoys will travel to Washington on Wednesday to brief US officials on their discussions in Pyongyang. It could be a challenging task -- Trump has dubbed Kim "Little Rocket Man" and boasted about the size of his nuclear button, while the North Korean leader called the American president a "mentally deranged US dotard".

South, North Korea to hold summit in April: Seoul

Top South Korean officials left for<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/north-korea-threatens-us-of-counter-attack-for-joint-military-exercises-with-south-korea-34579"> North Korea today as the North-South</a> &quot;friendship&quot; wave in the aftermath of the &quot;peace games&quot; in Pyeongchang&nbsp;gained momentum on Monday.

North&#39;s Korean <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/will-send-special-envoy-to-north-korea-south-korea-to-trump-34455">leader Kim Jong Un&#39;s sister Kim</a> Yo Jong had visited South Korea during the Winter Games a fortnight&nbsp;ago&nbsp;as the two nations sought to move away from controversies to focus on new peace initiatives.

Kim Yo Jong had invited South Korean president Moon Jae-in to North Korea even as the US had kept itself away from Kim&#39;s sister.

&quot;We plan to hold in-depth discussions for ways to continue not only inter-Korean talks but dialogue between North Korea and the international community including the United States,&quot; Chung Eui-yong, South Korea&#39;s national security advisor who is leading the delegation said.

Chung is accompanied by five other senior officials as they try to engage with the North Korean regime which has seen months of standoff between the US and North Korea over the nuclear issue.

&quot;We will deliver President Moon&#39;s firm resolution to denuclearise the Korean peninsula and to create sincere and lasting peace,&quot; Chung added.

This is the first ministerial-level South Korean visit to the North since December 2007, when Seoul&#39;s intelligence chief travelled to Pyongyang.

 
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lx75WSevCiI" width="560"></iframe> 
&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Kim Yo Jong had invited South Korean president Moon Jae-in to North Korea even as its close ally the US kept itself away from Kim's sister.

Top South Korean officials left for North Korea today as the North-South "friendship" wave in the aftermath of the "peace games" in Pyeongchang gained momentum on Monday. North's Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong had visited South Korea during the Winter Games a fortnight ago as the two nations sought to move away from controversies to focus on new peace initiatives. Kim Yo Jong had invited South Korean president Moon Jae-in to North Korea even as the US had kept itself away from Kim's sister. "We plan to hold in-depth discussions for ways to continue not only inter-Korean talks but dialogue between North Korea and the international community including the United States," Chung Eui-yong, South Korea's national security advisor who is leading the delegation said. Chung is accompanied by five other senior officials as they try to engage with the North Korean regime which has seen months of standoff between the US and North Korea over the nuclear issue. "We will deliver President Moon's firm resolution to denuclearise the Korean peninsula and to create sincere and lasting peace," Chung added. This is the first ministerial-level South Korean visit to the North since December 2007, when Seoul's intelligence chief travelled to Pyongyang.

In new peace initiative after Winter Olympics, South Korean officials leave for North Korea

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will send a team of special envoys -- including Seoul&#39;s spy chief -- to the North on Monday to push for talks between Washington and Pyongyang on nuclear weapons.

The delegation, announced by Moon&#39;s office on Sunday, is the latest chapter in a remarkable Olympics-driven detente between the two Koreas.&nbsp;

An intense rapprochement saw the two foes march together at the South&#39;s Pyeongchang Winter Olympics that ended February 25, with the North&#39;s leader Kim Jong Un sending his sister as a special envoy to the event.

Kim Yo Jong&#39;s appearance at the Games&#39; opening ceremony made global headlines, marking the first visit to the South by a member of the Kim family since the end of the Korean War.

Moon has sought to use the Pyeongchang Games to open dialogue between the US and the North in the hopes of easing a nuclear standoff that has heightened fears over global security.

He chose five top officials -- including top national security advisor Chung Eui-Yong and spy chief Suh Hoon -- to visit Pyongyang on Monday, Moon&#39;s spokesman said.&nbsp;

&quot;The special delegates will have extensive discussions over issues including creating conditions for North-US talks to denuclearise the Korean peninsula and improving inter-Korea ties,&quot; Yoon Young-chan told reporters.&nbsp;

The 10-member group -- five top delegates and five supporting officials -- would fly to the North&#39;s capital Pyongyang on Monday afternoon before returning on Tuesday, Yoon said.&nbsp;

The delegation will then fly to the US to explain the result of the talks to officials in Washington, he added.&nbsp;

Suh is a veteran in dealings with the North. He is known to have been deeply involved in negotiations to arrange two previous inter-Korea summits in 2000 and 2007.

The isolated, impoverished North staged its most powerful nuclear test and test-fired multiple missiles last year, including some capable of hitting the US mainland, in defiance of UN sanctions.&nbsp;

The North&#39;s leader Kim and US President Donald Trump have also traded threats of war and personal insults, sending tensions soaring.

Moon, who advocates dialogue with the nuclear-armed regime, said last week that Washington needs to &quot;lower the threshold for talks&quot; with Pyongyang.&nbsp;

But the US has ruled out any possibility of talks before the North takes steps towards denuclearisation, and imposed what Trump hailed as the &quot;toughest ever&quot; sanctions on Kim&#39;s regime late last month.&nbsp;

On Saturday, a foreign ministry spokesman in Pyongyang called on the US drop any preconditions for talks.

&quot;The US is taking preposterous action by continuing to trumpet an insistence that it will not have dialogue unless a right condition is met,&quot; the unnamed spokesman was quoted as saying by the state-run KCNA news agency.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will send a team of special envoys -- including Seoul's spy chief -- to the North on Monday to push for talks between Washington and Pyongyang on nuclear weapons

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will send a team of special envoys -- including Seoul's spy chief -- to the North on Monday to push for talks between Washington and Pyongyang on nuclear weapons. The delegation, announced by Moon's office on Sunday, is the latest chapter in a remarkable Olympics-driven detente between the two Koreas. An intense rapprochement saw the two foes march together at the South's Pyeongchang Winter Olympics that ended February 25, with the North's leader Kim Jong Un sending his sister as a special envoy to the event. Kim Yo Jong's appearance at the Games' opening ceremony made global headlines, marking the first visit to the South by a member of the Kim family since the end of the Korean War. Moon has sought to use the Pyeongchang Games to open dialogue between the US and the North in the hopes of easing a nuclear standoff that has heightened fears over global security. He chose five top officials -- including top national security advisor Chung Eui-Yong and spy chief Suh Hoon -- to visit Pyongyang on Monday, Moon's spokesman said. "The special delegates will have extensive discussions over issues including creating conditions for North-US talks to denuclearise the Korean peninsula and improving inter-Korea ties," Yoon Young-chan told reporters. The 10-member group -- five top delegates and five supporting officials -- would fly to the North's capital Pyongyang on Monday afternoon before returning on Tuesday, Yoon said. The delegation will then fly to the US to explain the result of the talks to officials in Washington, he added. Suh is a veteran in dealings with the North. He is known to have been deeply involved in negotiations to arrange two previous inter-Korea summits in 2000 and 2007. The isolated, impoverished North staged its most powerful nuclear test and test-fired multiple missiles last year, including some capable of hitting the US mainland, in defiance of UN sanctions. The North's leader Kim and US President Donald Trump have also traded threats of war and personal insults, sending tensions soaring. Moon, who advocates dialogue with the nuclear-armed regime, said last week that Washington needs to "lower the threshold for talks" with Pyongyang. But the US has ruled out any possibility of talks before the North takes steps towards denuclearisation, and imposed what Trump hailed as the "toughest ever" sanctions on Kim's regime late last month. On Saturday, a foreign ministry spokesman in Pyongyang called on the US drop any preconditions for talks. "The US is taking preposterous action by continuing to trumpet an insistence that it will not have dialogue unless a right condition is met," the unnamed spokesman was quoted as saying by the state-run KCNA news agency.

South Korea to send envoys to North on Monday

A North Korean official on Sunday threatened the US&nbsp;yet again if it takes part in the joint military exercises with South Korea in the coming months.

The United States is due to start joint exercises in early April, a South Korean presidential security adviser said this week according to Yonhap news agency - the latest in a series of drills that the north has regularly described as a threat.

&ldquo;If the US&nbsp;finally holds joint military exercises while keeping sanctions on the DPRK, the DPRK will counter the U.S. by its own mode of counteraction and the US&nbsp;will be made to own all responsibilities for the ensuing consequences,&rdquo; North Korea&rsquo;s official KCNA news agency said in its commentary, saying the drills would harm reconciliation efforts on the peninsula.

It further said the military drills between the US and South Korea would harm reconciliation efforts on the peninsula and the North shall be &#39;forced&#39; to counter the US.

On 23 February, the US said it was imposing its largest package of sanctions to pressure Pyongyang into giving up its nuclear and missile programmes. Tensions have remained high since the latest sanctions were put into place.

North Korea has slammed Trump&rsquo;s unilateral sanctions against it, but it said it was open to talks with the United States during senior North Korean officials&rsquo; visit to South Korea for the Olympics last month.

The White House said any talks with North Korea must lead to an end of its nuclear program. North Korea reiterated on Saturday that it was willing to talk to the United States but said it would never sit with any precondition.

The North Korean spokesperson said, &quot;It would neither beg for dialogue nor evade the military option claimed by the US.&quot;

The United States is due to start joint exercises in early April, a South Korean presidential security adviser said this week according to Yonhap news agency - the latest in a series of drills that the north has regularly described as a threat

A North Korean official on Sunday threatened the US yet again if it takes part in the joint military exercises with South Korea in the coming months. The United States is due to start joint exercises in early April, a South Korean presidential security adviser said this week according to Yonhap news agency - the latest in a series of drills that the north has regularly described as a threat. “If the US finally holds joint military exercises while keeping sanctions on the DPRK, the DPRK will counter the U.S. by its own mode of counteraction and the US will be made to own all responsibilities for the ensuing consequences,” North Korea’s official KCNA news agency said in its commentary, saying the drills would harm reconciliation efforts on the peninsula. It further said the military drills between the US and South Korea would harm reconciliation efforts on the peninsula and the North shall be 'forced' to counter the US. On 23 February, the US said it was imposing its largest package of sanctions to pressure Pyongyang into giving up its nuclear and missile programmes. Tensions have remained high since the latest sanctions were put into place. North Korea has slammed Trump’s unilateral sanctions against it, but it said it was open to talks with the United States during senior North Korean officials’ visit to South Korea for the Olympics last month. The White House said any talks with North Korea must lead to an end of its nuclear program. North Korea reiterated on Saturday that it was willing to talk to the United States but said it would never sit with any precondition. The North Korean spokesperson said, "It would neither beg for dialogue nor evade the military option claimed by the US."

North Korea threatens US against joint military exercises with South Korea

South Korean President Moon Jae-in Thursday told Donald Trump that he plans to send a special envoy to Pyongyang, his office said, the latest in the Olympic-driven detente between the two Koreas.

An intense rapprochement saw the two Koreas march into the Games opening ceremony together behind a unification flag, and Moon shared a historic handshake with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un&#39;s sister Kim Yo Jong.

&quot;In response to the visit by North Korea&#39;s special envoy Kim Yo Jong, ... Moon conveyed to Trump his plans to dispatch a special envoy to the North soon,&quot; Seoul&#39;s presidential office said in a statement following their phone conversation.

The two presidents also &quot;agreed to maintain the momentum in inter-Korean dialogue and to continue efforts so it leads to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula,&quot; it said.

Moon has sought to use the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics that ended Sunday to open dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang in the hopes of easing a nuclear standoff that has sparked global security fears.

Pyongyang mounted a charm offensive during the Games, sending athletes, cheerleaders and high-level delegations following months of tensions over its nuclear and missile programmes.

Moon, who advocates dialogue with the North to defuse tension, said on Monday that Washington needs to &quot;lower the threshold for talks&quot; with the North.&nbsp;

In a meeting with North Korean General Kim Yong Chol on Sunday, Moon also urged the North to open dialogue with the US as soon as possible -- to which Kim responded by saying the North was &quot;very willing&quot; to hold talks.

But the US has ruled out any possibility of talks before Pyongyang -- which last year staged multiple missile and nuclear tests -- takes steps towards denuclearisation.

There was no known interaction between the North and the US during the Games and Washington last week imposed what Trump described as the &quot;heaviest ever&quot; sanctions on the isolated regime.

The two presidents also 'agreed to maintain the momentum in inter-Korean dialogue and to continue efforts so it leads to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula'

South Korean President Moon Jae-in Thursday told Donald Trump that he plans to send a special envoy to Pyongyang, his office said, the latest in the Olympic-driven detente between the two Koreas. An intense rapprochement saw the two Koreas march into the Games opening ceremony together behind a unification flag, and Moon shared a historic handshake with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong. "In response to the visit by North Korea's special envoy Kim Yo Jong, ... Moon conveyed to Trump his plans to dispatch a special envoy to the North soon," Seoul's presidential office said in a statement following their phone conversation. The two presidents also "agreed to maintain the momentum in inter-Korean dialogue and to continue efforts so it leads to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula," it said. Moon has sought to use the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics that ended Sunday to open dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang in the hopes of easing a nuclear standoff that has sparked global security fears. Pyongyang mounted a charm offensive during the Games, sending athletes, cheerleaders and high-level delegations following months of tensions over its nuclear and missile programmes. Moon, who advocates dialogue with the North to defuse tension, said on Monday that Washington needs to "lower the threshold for talks" with the North. In a meeting with North Korean General Kim Yong Chol on Sunday, Moon also urged the North to open dialogue with the US as soon as possible -- to which Kim responded by saying the North was "very willing" to hold talks. But the US has ruled out any possibility of talks before Pyongyang -- which last year staged multiple missile and nuclear tests -- takes steps towards denuclearisation. There was no known interaction between the North and the US during the Games and Washington last week imposed what Trump described as the "heaviest ever" sanctions on the isolated regime.

Will send special envoy to North Korea: South Korea to Trump

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Tuesday said that sanctions on North Korea aimed to pressure it to give up its nuclear ambitions.

Kyung-wha kept his views in front of the Conference on Disarmament at the United Nations in Geneva.&nbsp;

&quot;Sanctions are not an end in themselves and not meant to bring down North Korea but to make it understand that its future lies not in nuclear weapons but in working with the global community towards denuclearlisation,&quot; Kang said.&nbsp;

He stressed that their efforts are to help North Korea make the right decision.

&quot;Our consistent message should be that it must make the right decision. And if it does, we are ready to work together towards a brighter and prosperous future for North Korea.&quot;

Earlier, Seoul informed that North Korea is willing to hold talks with the US, days after it cancelled a planned meeting with Vice President Mike Pence. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Kyung-wha kept his views in front of the Conference on Disarmament at the UN in Geneva

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Tuesday said that sanctions on North Korea aimed to pressure it to give up its nuclear ambitions. Kyung-wha kept his views in front of the Conference on Disarmament at the United Nations in Geneva. "Sanctions are not an end in themselves and not meant to bring down North Korea but to make it understand that its future lies not in nuclear weapons but in working with the global community towards denuclearlisation," Kang said. He stressed that their efforts are to help North Korea make the right decision. "Our consistent message should be that it must make the right decision. And if it does, we are ready to work together towards a brighter and prosperous future for North Korea." Earlier, Seoul informed that North Korea is willing to hold talks with the US, days after it cancelled a planned meeting with Vice President Mike Pence.

Sanctions do not aim to bring down North Korea, says South Korea

South Korean prosecutors on Tuesday sought a 30-year jail term for former President Park Geun-hye who was ousted last year amid an influence-peddling scandal that rocked the country&#39;s business and political elite.

Park was dismissed in March after being impeached and is standing trial on charges of bribery, abuse of power and coercion. She denies wrongdoing.

Park Geun-hye is standing trial on charges of bribery, abuse of power and coercion

South Korean prosecutors on Tuesday sought a 30-year jail term for former President Park Geun-hye who was ousted last year amid an influence-peddling scandal that rocked the country's business and political elite. Park was dismissed in March after being impeached and is standing trial on charges of bribery, abuse of power and coercion. She denies wrongdoing.

South Korean prosecutors seek 30-year jail term for former President Park Geun-Hye

The <a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/south-korea-brings-curtain-down-on-peace-games-34040">closing ceremony</a> of the 2018 Winter Olympics Games got underway on Sunday.&nbsp;Officials from both North Korea and the United States&nbsp;attended both the closing and opening ceremonies. The daughter of US President Donald Trump and senior Whitehouse adviser, Ivanka Trump also attended the mega event besides&nbsp;South Korean President Moon Jae-in.&nbsp;The Games opened on February 9 and were the biggest Winter Olympics of all time, with 2,920 athletes competing for a record 102 gold medals.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/south-korea-brings-curtain-down-on-peace-games-34040">The Peace Games&nbsp;ended</a> with an unexpected diplomacy between host nation South Korea and its estranged neighbours in the North.

Both the Koreas made a history and entered&nbsp;the Games by forming a joint women ice hockey team - a diplomatic accomplishment that could signal an enduring thaw between the rivals.

When it comes to medal tally that Norway emerged as a champion and topped the final medal tally with 14 golds ahead of Germany, which also had 14 gold but fewer medals in all. Canada was third with 11 golds. Hosts South Korea was seventh.

Russian athletes were to march into the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/south-korea-brings-curtain-down-on-peace-games-34040">closing ceremony</a> under a neutral flag after a ban on <a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/russia-again-suffers-doping-allegations-here-is-history-of-russian-doping-scandal-33344">Russia&#39;s Olympic</a> committee was upheld on Sunday following a mass <a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/russia-again-suffers-doping-allegations-here-is-history-of-russian-doping-scandal-33344">doping scandal</a>.

Thousands departed the Pyeongchang Olympic stadium on Sunday night after watching the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

One of the fans said, &quot;I think the closing is different feeling and it&#39;s a celebration of the conclusion of this sport. So, it&#39;s time for athletes to come and be recognised. It&#39;s very nice and very appropriate.&quot;

Another fan shared his emotions and said, &quot;Wonderful, just absolutely wonderful, everything. It&#39;s very organised. Just fabulous and fantastic.&quot;

&quot;My feeling was really good. I think especially when South and North Korea, they came together (to participate winter Olympics), I think it&#39;s a good opportunity to be together and then to prepare the unification between South and North Korea and to protect the Asian security and the world peace,&quot; one fan praised the political and diplomatical advancement in both the rival nations.

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23rd edition of Winter Games concluded on February 25 bringing to end of the competition in 15 winter sports (AFP)
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The closing ceremony for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games took place in Pyeongchang on Sunday

The closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics Games got underway on Sunday. Officials from both North Korea and the United States attended both the closing and opening ceremonies. The daughter of US President Donald Trump and senior Whitehouse adviser, Ivanka Trump also attended the mega event besides South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The Games opened on February 9 and were the biggest Winter Olympics of all time, with 2,920 athletes competing for a record 102 gold medals. The Peace Games ended with an unexpected diplomacy between host nation South Korea and its estranged neighbours in the North. Both the Koreas made a history and entered the Games by forming a joint women ice hockey team - a diplomatic accomplishment that could signal an enduring thaw between the rivals. When it comes to medal tally that Norway emerged as a champion and topped the final medal tally with 14 golds ahead of Germany, which also had 14 gold but fewer medals in all. Canada was third with 11 golds. Hosts South Korea was seventh. Russian athletes were to march into the closing ceremony under a neutral flag after a ban on Russia's Olympic committee was upheld on Sunday following a mass doping scandal. Thousands departed the Pyeongchang Olympic stadium on Sunday night after watching the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics. One of the fans said, "I think the closing is different feeling and it's a celebration of the conclusion of this sport. So, it's time for athletes to come and be recognised. It's very nice and very appropriate." Another fan shared his emotions and said, "Wonderful, just absolutely wonderful, everything. It's very organised. Just fabulous and fantastic." "My feeling was really good. I think especially when South and North Korea, they came together (to participate winter Olympics), I think it's a good opportunity to be together and then to prepare the unification between South and North Korea and to protect the Asian security and the world peace," one fan praised the political and diplomatical advancement in both the rival nations. 23rd edition of Winter Games concluded on February 25 bringing to end of the competition in 15 winter sports (AFP) ×

Watch: Pyeongchang Winter Olympics ends with fireworks; Norway, Germany finish on top

The White House said any talks with North Korea must lead to an end to its nuclear program after senior officials from Pyongyang visiting South Korea said on Sunday their government was open to talks with the United States.

The North Korean delegation, in Pyeongchang for the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics, met at an undisclosed location with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and expressed a willingness to meet with the United States, Moon`s office said in a statement.

The Pyongyang delegation said developments in relations between the two Koreas and between North Korea and the United States should go hand in hand, according to the statement.

The Olympics gave a boost to recent engagement between the two Koreas after more than a year of sharply rising tensions over the North`s missile program and its sixth and largest nuclear test in defiance of UN sanctions.

The United States announced on Friday it was imposing its largest package of sanctions aimed at getting North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programs.

On Sunday, North Korean state media accused the United States of provoking confrontation on the Korean peninsula with the sanctions.

The White House said its sanctions would continue.

&quot;We will see if Pyongyang`s message today, that it is willing to hold talks, represents the first steps along the path to denuclearization,&quot; the White House said in a statement.

&quot;In the meantime, the United States and the world must continue to make clear that North Korea`s nuclear and missile programs are a dead end,&quot; it said.

No interaction with Ivanka Trump

Moon, the North Korean delegation, and Ivanka Trump, US President Donald Trump`s daughter, were among dignitaries who attended the Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday.

Ivanka Trump, a senior White House adviser, did not interact with the North Korean delegation, a senior US administration official said. She met Moon on Friday as part of a weekend trip leading the US delegation to the closing ceremony.

North Korea sent former military intelligence chief Kim Yong Chol, an official accused of being behind a deadly 2010 attack on a South Korean warship, to lead its delegation.

The decision enraged the families of 46 sailors killed in the torpedo attack and threatened the mood of rapprochement that Seoul sought to create at what it called the &quot;Peace Games.&quot;

North Korea has denied its involvement in the sinking.

Moon met Kim in Pyeongchang, where the Olympics were held, before the closing ceremony, the South Korean government said.

Earlier, about 100 conservative South Korean lawmakers and activists staged a sit-in near the border with North Korea, to protest Kim`s arrival and facing off against about 2,500 South Korean police.&nbsp;

The North`s delegation took a different route, prompting the opposition Korea Liberty Party to accuse Moon`s administration of &quot;abuse of power and an act of treason&quot; by rerouting the motorcade to shield it from the protest.

Trump Warning

The North sent Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, to the opening ceremony.

She was the centre of a frenzy of attention, especially when she appeared at the opening ceremony and was only a few feet from US Vice President Mike Pence. They did not speak.

Kim Yo Jong and the North`s nominal head of state were the most senior North Korean officials to visit the South in more than a decade. The North Korean leader later said he wanted to create a &quot;warm climate of reconciliation and dialogue.&quot;

The US president, in announcing the new sanctions on Friday, warned of a &quot;phase two&quot; that could be &quot;very, very unfortunate for the world&quot; if the sanctions did not work.

North Korea denounced the sanctions in a statement carried on its state media and said a blockade by the United States would be considered an act of war.

China also reacted angrily, saying on Saturday the unilateral targeting of Chinese firms and people risked harming cooperation on North Korea.

Moon won election last year promising to try to improve relations with the North.

The North Korean delegation, in Pyeongchang for the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics, met at an undisclosed location with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and expressed a willingness to meet with the United States, Moon`s office said in a statement

The White House said any talks with North Korea must lead to an end to its nuclear program after senior officials from Pyongyang visiting South Korea said on Sunday their government was open to talks with the United States. The North Korean delegation, in Pyeongchang for the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics, met at an undisclosed location with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and expressed a willingness to meet with the United States, Moon`s office said in a statement. The Pyongyang delegation said developments in relations between the two Koreas and between North Korea and the United States should go hand in hand, according to the statement. The Olympics gave a boost to recent engagement between the two Koreas after more than a year of sharply rising tensions over the North`s missile program and its sixth and largest nuclear test in defiance of UN sanctions. The United States announced on Friday it was imposing its largest package of sanctions aimed at getting North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programs. On Sunday, North Korean state media accused the United States of provoking confrontation on the Korean peninsula with the sanctions. The White House said its sanctions would continue. "We will see if Pyongyang`s message today, that it is willing to hold talks, represents the first steps along the path to denuclearization," the White House said in a statement. "In the meantime, the United States and the world must continue to make clear that North Korea`s nuclear and missile programs are a dead end," it said. No interaction with Ivanka Trump Moon, the North Korean delegation, and Ivanka Trump, US President Donald Trump`s daughter, were among dignitaries who attended the Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday. Ivanka Trump, a senior White House adviser, did not interact with the North Korean delegation, a senior US administration official said. She met Moon on Friday as part of a weekend trip leading the US delegation to the closing ceremony. North Korea sent former military intelligence chief Kim Yong Chol, an official accused of being behind a deadly 2010 attack on a South Korean warship, to lead its delegation. The decision enraged the families of 46 sailors killed in the torpedo attack and threatened the mood of rapprochement that Seoul sought to create at what it called the "Peace Games." North Korea has denied its involvement in the sinking. Moon met Kim in Pyeongchang, where the Olympics were held, before the closing ceremony, the South Korean government said. Earlier, about 100 conservative South Korean lawmakers and activists staged a sit-in near the border with North Korea, to protest Kim`s arrival and facing off against about 2,500 South Korean police. The North`s delegation took a different route, prompting the opposition Korea Liberty Party to accuse Moon`s administration of "abuse of power and an act of treason" by rerouting the motorcade to shield it from the protest. Trump Warning The North sent Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, to the opening ceremony. She was the centre of a frenzy of attention, especially when she appeared at the opening ceremony and was only a few feet from US Vice President Mike Pence. They did not speak. Kim Yo Jong and the North`s nominal head of state were the most senior North Korean officials to visit the South in more than a decade. The North Korean leader later said he wanted to create a "warm climate of reconciliation and dialogue." The US president, in announcing the new sanctions on Friday, warned of a "phase two" that could be "very, very unfortunate for the world" if the sanctions did not work. North Korea denounced the sanctions in a statement carried on its state media and said a blockade by the United States would be considered an act of war. China also reacted angrily, saying on Saturday the unilateral targeting of Chinese firms and people risked harming cooperation on North Korea. Moon won election last year promising to try to improve relations with the North.

White House: Talks with North Korea must lead to ending of nuclear program

South Korea brought the curtain down on its &quot;Peace Games&quot; on February 25, with winter sports athletes dancing and singing together at a vibrant closing ceremony, though there was little warmth between dignitaries from the United States and North Korea.

South Korea President Moon Jae-in, who hopes to use these Games as an opportunity to engage with the North, warmly greeted U.S. President Donald Trump&#39;s daughter Ivanka before offering a brief handshake to North Korean delegation leader Kim Yong Chol.

Despite the divisions and distrust between the two Koreas, they agreed to have their athletes march together at both the opening and closing ceremonies under a banner of unification. They also fielded a unified women&#39;s ice hockey team.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach paid tribute to the athletes, saying they were an example to the world.

&quot;You have shown how sport brings people together in our fragile world,&quot; he said.

During his speech, Bach invited several athletes to join him on stage, including South Korea&#39;s gold medallist skeleton rider Yun Sung-bin, North Korean figure skater Ryom Tae Ok, American skier Lindsey Vonn and Tongan flag carrier Pita Taufatofua.

Bach signed off by calling upon the youth of the world to gather in Beijing in four years&#39; time for the 2022 Winter Games.

With the ceremony showcasing cutting-edge South Korean technology and a remarkable drone show that dotted out the image of the Games mascot Soohorang, a white tiger, in the night sky, athletes marched into the stadium, many wearing their medals.

The Russian flag, absent at the opening ceremony, was again nowhere to be seen after the IOC decided not to lift the suspension on their country.

&nbsp;

Despite the divisions and distrust between the two Koreas, they agreed to have their athletes march together at both the opening and closing ceremonies under a banner of unification

South Korea brought the curtain down on its "Peace Games" on February 25, with winter sports athletes dancing and singing together at a vibrant closing ceremony, though there was little warmth between dignitaries from the United States and North Korea. South Korea President Moon Jae-in, who hopes to use these Games as an opportunity to engage with the North, warmly greeted U.S. President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka before offering a brief handshake to North Korean delegation leader Kim Yong Chol. Despite the divisions and distrust between the two Koreas, they agreed to have their athletes march together at both the opening and closing ceremonies under a banner of unification. They also fielded a unified women's ice hockey team. International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach paid tribute to the athletes, saying they were an example to the world. "You have shown how sport brings people together in our fragile world," he said. During his speech, Bach invited several athletes to join him on stage, including South Korea's gold medallist skeleton rider Yun Sung-bin, North Korean figure skater Ryom Tae Ok, American skier Lindsey Vonn and Tongan flag carrier Pita Taufatofua. Bach signed off by calling upon the youth of the world to gather in Beijing in four years' time for the 2022 Winter Games. With the ceremony showcasing cutting-edge South Korean technology and a remarkable drone show that dotted out the image of the Games mascot Soohorang, a white tiger, in the night sky, athletes marched into the stadium, many wearing their medals. The Russian flag, absent at the opening ceremony, was again nowhere to be seen after the IOC decided not to lift the suspension on their country.

South Korea brings curtain down on 'Peace Games'

North Korea must abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and allow peace to take root on the divided peninsula, South Korea`s foreign minister said on Monday.

Kang Kyung-wha, foreign minister of the Republic of Korea, also called for the resumption of visits between separated Korean families, as a &quot;humanitarian and human rights issue&quot;, especially are many are in their 80s.

&quot;It is imperative to ensure the Pyeongchang spirit lives long after so peace can take root on the Korean peninsula,&quot; Kang told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. &quot;North Korea must heed the call and abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.&quot;&nbsp;

North should allow peace to take root on the divided peninsula, said South Korea

North Korea must abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and allow peace to take root on the divided peninsula, South Korea`s foreign minister said on Monday. Kang Kyung-wha, foreign minister of the Republic of Korea, also called for the resumption of visits between separated Korean families, as a "humanitarian and human rights issue", especially are many are in their 80s. "It is imperative to ensure the Pyeongchang spirit lives long after so peace can take root on the Korean peninsula," Kang told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. "North Korea must heed the call and abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes."

South Korea urges North to abandon nuclear weapons, allow family visits

Days after the United States office reported that North Korea cancelled a planned meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence at the last minute, fresh reports emerged that now Pyongyang is willing to hold dialogue.

According to Seoul&#39;s presidential Blue House, North Korea is willing to hold talks with the United States, its delegation to the Winter Olympics closing ceremony said on Sunday.&nbsp;

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In a meeting with the South&#39;s President Moon Jae-in, the North&#39;s delegation &quot;agreed that inter-Korea talks and North-US relations should improve together&quot;.

Pyongyang has frequently said it is willing to talk without preconditions, but Washington says it must first take concrete steps towards denuclearisation.

Earlier, North Korea cancelled a scheduled meeting with US VP Mike Pence

Days after the United States office reported that North Korea cancelled a planned meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence at the last minute, fresh reports emerged that now Pyongyang is willing to hold dialogue. According to Seoul's presidential Blue House, North Korea is willing to hold talks with the United States, its delegation to the Winter Olympics closing ceremony said on Sunday. South Korea’s presidential office says 'North Korea open to talks with United States': South Korean media reports pic.twitter.com/FbIpLFR84X — ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2018 × In a meeting with the South's President Moon Jae-in, the North's delegation "agreed that inter-Korea talks and North-US relations should improve together". Pyongyang has frequently said it is willing to talk without preconditions, but Washington says it must first take concrete steps towards denuclearisation.

North Korea willing to hold talks with US, says Seoul

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/kim-yo-jong-meet-the-ivanka-trump-of-north-korea-684#photo-37445">Ivanka Trump</a>&nbsp;has arrived in&nbsp;Seoul,&nbsp;South Korea to attend the closing ceremony of one of&nbsp;the biggest sporting events, Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.&nbsp;The concluding ceremony is scheduled to take place on February 25. US President Donald Trump&#39;s daughter and senior White House adviser&nbsp;Ivanka&nbsp;Trump arrived at the curling venue in Gangneung on Saturday (February 24) to cheer on the United States against Sweden in the men&#39;s final.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/kim-yo-jong-meet-the-ivanka-trump-of-north-korea-684#photo-37445">In pics: Kim Yo Jong: Meet the &#39;Ivanka Trump&#39; of North Korea</a>

The event, whose theme revolves around promoting peace, started with the arrival of a&nbsp;northern guest, Kim Yo Jong,&nbsp;younger sister of North Korea&#39;s supreme leader Kim Jong Un. The team USA currently stands at rank fourth with 21 medals in total.

Earlier,&nbsp;Ivanka&nbsp;watched American Kyle Mack win a silver medal in the men&#39;s snowboarding jump final. She is also scheduled to attend the closing ceremony.

The United States announced on Friday (February 23) with&nbsp;Ivanka&nbsp;in South Korea that it was imposing its largest package of sanctions to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear missile program, and President Donald Trump warned of a &quot;phase two&quot; that could be &quot;very, very unfortunate for the world&quot; if the steps did not work.

&nbsp;

Ivanka Trump has arrived in Seoul, South Korea to attend the closing ceremony of Pyeongchang Winter Olympics

Ivanka Trump has arrived in Seoul, South Korea to attend the closing ceremony of one of the biggest sporting events, Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. The concluding ceremony is scheduled to take place on February 25. US President Donald Trump's daughter and senior White House adviser Ivanka Trump arrived at the curling venue in Gangneung on Saturday (February 24) to cheer on the United States against Sweden in the men's final. In pics: Kim Yo Jong: Meet the 'Ivanka Trump' of North Korea The event, whose theme revolves around promoting peace, started with the arrival of a northern guest, Kim Yo Jong, younger sister of North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong Un. The team USA currently stands at rank fourth with 21 medals in total. Earlier, Ivanka watched American Kyle Mack win a silver medal in the men's snowboarding jump final. She is also scheduled to attend the closing ceremony. The United States announced on Friday (February 23) with Ivanka in South Korea that it was imposing its largest package of sanctions to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear missile program, and President Donald Trump warned of a "phase two" that could be "very, very unfortunate for the world" if the steps did not work.

Watch: Ivanka Trump attends curling final to cheer team USA

The Trump administration and key Asian allies are preparing to expand interceptions of ships suspected of violating sanctions on North Korea, a plan that could include deploying U.S. Coast Guard forces to stop and search vessels in Asia-Pacific waters, senior U.S. officials said.

Washington has been talking to regional partners, including Japan, South Korea, Australia and Singapore, about coordinating a stepped-up crackdown that would go further than ever before in an attempt to squeeze Pyongyang&#39;s use of seagoing trade to feed its nuclear missile program, several officials told Reuters.

While suspect ships have been intercepted before, the emerging strategy would expand the scope of such operations but stop short of imposing a naval blockade on North Korea. Pyongyang has warned it would consider a blockade an act of war.

The strategy calls for closer tracking and possible seizure of ships suspected of carrying banned weapons components and other prohibited cargo to or from North Korea, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Depending on the scale of the campaign, the United States could consider beefing up the naval and air power of its Pacific Command, they said.

The U.S.-led initiative, which has not been previously reported, shows Washington&#39;s increasing urgency to force North Korea into negotiations over the abandonment of its weapons programs, the officials said.

North Korea may be only a few months away from completing development of a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland, despite existing international sanctions that, at times, have been sidestepped by smuggling and ship-to-ship transfers at sea of banned goods, according to officials.

&quot;There is no doubt we all have to do more, short of direct military action, to show (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un we mean business,&quot; said a senior administration official.

The White House declined official comment.

The effort could target vessels on the high seas or in the territorial waters of countries that choose to cooperate. It was unclear, however, to what extent the campaign might extend beyond Asia.

Washington on Friday slapped sanctions on dozens more companies and vessels linked to North Korean shipping trade and urged the United Nations to blacklist a list of entities, a move it said was aimed at shutting down North Korea&#39;s illicit maritime smuggling activities to obtain oil and sell coal.

Tighter sanctions plus a more assertive approach at sea could dial up tensions at a time when fragile diplomacy between North and South Korea has gained momentum. It would also stretch U.S. military resources needed elsewhere, possibly incur massive new costs and fuel misgivings among some countries in the region.

BOARDING SHIPS

The initiative, which is still being developed, would be fraught with challenges that could risk triggering North Korean retaliation and dividing the international community.

China and Russia, which have blocked U.S. efforts at the United Nations to win approval for use of force in North Korea interdiction operations, are likely to oppose new actions if they see the United States as overstepping. A Chinese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said such steps should only be taken under United Nations auspices.

But Washington is expected to start gradually ratcheting up such operations soon even if discussions with allies have not been completed, according to the senior U.S. official.

U.S. experts are developing legal arguments for doing more to stop sanctions-busting vessels, citing the last U.N. Security Council resolution which they say opened the door by calling on states to inspect suspect ships on the high seas or in their waters.

Washington is also drawing up rules of engagement aimed at avoiding armed confrontation at sea, the officials said.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told reporters in Washington on Friday the United States does not rule out boarding ships for inspections.

But U.S. officials said privately that such actions, especially the use of boarding crews, would be decided on a case-by-case and with utmost caution.

Some U.S. officials believe the risk could be minimized if Coast Guard cutters, which carry less firepower and technically engage in law-enforcement missions, are used in certain cases rather than warships.

The Coast Guard declined to address whether it might deploy ships to the Asia-Pacific region but acknowledged its ties to countries there. &quot;Future ship deployments would depend on U.S. foreign policy objectives and the operational availability of our assets,&quot; said spokesman Lieutenant Commander Dave French.

&#39;THE MORE PARTNERS WE HAVE&#39;

A senior South Korean government official said there had been discussions over &quot;intensified maritime interdictions,&quot; including at a foreign ministers&#39; meeting in Vancouver last month where U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson pressed counterparts on the issue.

&quot;We are discussing with various countries including the U.S. and South Korea how to fully implement the sanctions but I have not heard talk of creating a framework or a coalition,&quot; said a Japanese defense ministry official involved in policy planning.

The Trump administration has also sought greater cooperation from Southeast Asian countries, which may have little military capability to assist but are seen as sources of intelligence on ship movements, U.S. officials said.

&quot;The more partners we have, the more resources we have to dedicate to the effort,&quot; said Chris Ford, assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation. He declined to talk about discussions with specific countries.

Washington is especially interested in detecting of ship-to-ship transfers at sea of banned goods, something North Korea has increasingly resorted to as vessels have faced greater scrutiny of their cargo in Asian ports, the officials said.

Reuters reported in December that Russian tankers had supplied fuel to North Korea at sea in a violation of sanctions. Washington also said at the time it had evidence that vessels from several countries, including China, had engaged in shipping oil products and coal. China denied the allegation.

U.S. interception of ships close to Chinese waters is something likely to be avoided, in favor of informing Chinese authorities of banned cargo onboard and asking them do the inspection, one official said.

&quot;It&#39;s probably impossible to stop everything, but you can raise the cost to North Korea,&quot; said David Shear, former deputy secretary of defense for Asia under President Barack Obama.

Washington has been talking to regional partners, including Japan, South Korea, Australia and Singapore, about coordinating a stepped-up crackdown

The Trump administration and key Asian allies are preparing to expand interceptions of ships suspected of violating sanctions on North Korea, a plan that could include deploying U.S. Coast Guard forces to stop and search vessels in Asia-Pacific waters, senior U.S. officials said. Washington has been talking to regional partners, including Japan, South Korea, Australia and Singapore, about coordinating a stepped-up crackdown that would go further than ever before in an attempt to squeeze Pyongyang's use of seagoing trade to feed its nuclear missile program, several officials told Reuters. While suspect ships have been intercepted before, the emerging strategy would expand the scope of such operations but stop short of imposing a naval blockade on North Korea. Pyongyang has warned it would consider a blockade an act of war. The strategy calls for closer tracking and possible seizure of ships suspected of carrying banned weapons components and other prohibited cargo to or from North Korea, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Depending on the scale of the campaign, the United States could consider beefing up the naval and air power of its Pacific Command, they said. The U.S.-led initiative, which has not been previously reported, shows Washington's increasing urgency to force North Korea into negotiations over the abandonment of its weapons programs, the officials said. North Korea may be only a few months away from completing development of a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland, despite existing international sanctions that, at times, have been sidestepped by smuggling and ship-to-ship transfers at sea of banned goods, according to officials. "There is no doubt we all have to do more, short of direct military action, to show (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un we mean business," said a senior administration official. The White House declined official comment. The effort could target vessels on the high seas or in the territorial waters of countries that choose to cooperate. It was unclear, however, to what extent the campaign might extend beyond Asia. Washington on Friday slapped sanctions on dozens more companies and vessels linked to North Korean shipping trade and urged the United Nations to blacklist a list of entities, a move it said was aimed at shutting down North Korea's illicit maritime smuggling activities to obtain oil and sell coal. Tighter sanctions plus a more assertive approach at sea could dial up tensions at a time when fragile diplomacy between North and South Korea has gained momentum. It would also stretch U.S. military resources needed elsewhere, possibly incur massive new costs and fuel misgivings among some countries in the region. BOARDING SHIPS The initiative, which is still being developed, would be fraught with challenges that could risk triggering North Korean retaliation and dividing the international community. China and Russia, which have blocked U.S. efforts at the United Nations to win approval for use of force in North Korea interdiction operations, are likely to oppose new actions if they see the United States as overstepping. A Chinese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said such steps should only be taken under United Nations auspices. But Washington is expected to start gradually ratcheting up such operations soon even if discussions with allies have not been completed, according to the senior U.S. official. U.S. experts are developing legal arguments for doing more to stop sanctions-busting vessels, citing the last U.N. Security Council resolution which they say opened the door by calling on states to inspect suspect ships on the high seas or in their waters. Washington is also drawing up rules of engagement aimed at avoiding armed confrontation at sea, the officials said. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told reporters in Washington on Friday the United States does not rule out boarding ships for inspections. But U.S. officials said privately that such actions, especially the use of boarding crews, would be decided on a case-by-case and with utmost caution. Some U.S. officials believe the risk could be minimized if Coast Guard cutters, which carry less firepower and technically engage in law-enforcement missions, are used in certain cases rather than warships. The Coast Guard declined to address whether it might deploy ships to the Asia-Pacific region but acknowledged its ties to countries there. "Future ship deployments would depend on U.S. foreign policy objectives and the operational availability of our assets," said spokesman Lieutenant Commander Dave French. 'THE MORE PARTNERS WE HAVE' A senior South Korean government official said there had been discussions over "intensified maritime interdictions," including at a foreign ministers' meeting in Vancouver last month where U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson pressed counterparts on the issue. "We are discussing with various countries including the U.S. and South Korea how to fully implement the sanctions but I have not heard talk of creating a framework or a coalition," said a Japanese defense ministry official involved in policy planning. The Trump administration has also sought greater cooperation from Southeast Asian countries, which may have little military capability to assist but are seen as sources of intelligence on ship movements, U.S. officials said. "The more partners we have, the more resources we have to dedicate to the effort," said Chris Ford, assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation. He declined to talk about discussions with specific countries. Washington is especially interested in detecting of ship-to-ship transfers at sea of banned goods, something North Korea has increasingly resorted to as vessels have faced greater scrutiny of their cargo in Asian ports, the officials said. Reuters reported in December that Russian tankers had supplied fuel to North Korea at sea in a violation of sanctions. Washington also said at the time it had evidence that vessels from several countries, including China, had engaged in shipping oil products and coal. China denied the allegation. U.S. interception of ships close to Chinese waters is something likely to be avoided, in favor of informing Chinese authorities of banned cargo onboard and asking them do the inspection, one official said. "It's probably impossible to stop everything, but you can raise the cost to North Korea," said David Shear, former deputy secretary of defense for Asia under President Barack Obama.

US and its allies prepare high-seas crackdown on North Korea sanctions evaders: Sources

Norway is leading the medal tally with 36 medals in total at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Currently, Norway, with 13 gold, 13 silver and 10 bronze medals and standing far away from other world&#39;s power blocs such as Germany and United States. Germany has currently bagged 25 medals and the USA has 21 medals in total. Though Germany and Norway have the equal number of&nbsp;gold medals but the total tally is very different, Norway leads the way with a margin of 11 medals in total.

Most of the American media is confused that how a country with a population of five million, is beating nations with comparatively high population and more sound infrastructure and facilities.

The USA has shown mediocre results at the Pyeongchang Olympics 2018&nbsp;and this might a situation when the USA needs to stop comparing the results of Summer Olympics&nbsp;with Winter Olympics and invest more in facilitating Winter sports.

Here is the list of medals that Norway has bagged in:

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Alpine Skiing (Others)
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&nbsp;

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Biathlon (Others)
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Cross-Country Skiing (Others)
</div>
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Curling (Others)
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Freestyle Skiing (Others)
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

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Nordic Combined (Others)
</div>
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Ski Jumping (Others)
</div>
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Speed Skating (Others)
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&nbsp;

Norway, a country with a population of five million, is beating nations with comparatively high population and more sound infrastructure and facilities

Norway is leading the medal tally with 36 medals in total at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Currently, Norway, with 13 gold, 13 silver and 10 bronze medals and standing far away from other world's power blocs such as Germany and United States. Germany has currently bagged 25 medals and the USA has 21 medals in total. Though Germany and Norway have the equal number of gold medals but the total tally is very different, Norway leads the way with a margin of 11 medals in total. Most of the American media is confused that how a country with a population of five million, is beating nations with comparatively high population and more sound infrastructure and facilities. The USA has shown mediocre results at the Pyeongchang Olympics 2018 and this might a situation when the USA needs to stop comparing the results of Summer Olympics with Winter Olympics and invest more in facilitating Winter sports. Here is the list of medals that Norway has bagged in: Alpine Skiing (Others) × Biathlon (Others) × Cross-Country Skiing (Others) × Curling (Others) × Freestyle Skiing (Others) × Nordic Combined (Others) × Ski Jumping (Others) × Speed Skating (Others) ×

Winter Olympics: Norway leads medal tally with 36 medals

The United States is due to announce its largest package of sanctions yet against North Korea to further pressure Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programme, as South Korea readies itself for more talks with the North&#39;s officials.

Tougher sanctions may jeopardise the latest detente between the two Koreas amid their preparations to create conditions appropriate to hold a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

A senior US&nbsp;administration official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, called the new penalties &quot;the largest package of new sanctions against the North Korea regime,&quot; without giving details.

US&nbsp;Vice President Mike Pence had hinted at such a plan two weeks ago during a stop in Tokyo that preceded his visit to South Korea for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he wants to boost the &quot;warm climate of reconciliation and dialogue&quot; with South Korea after a high-level delegation including his sister returned from the Winter Olympics.

Last year, North Korea conducted dozens of missile launches and its sixth and largest nuclear test in defiance of United Nations sanctions. However, it has now been more than two months since its last missile test in late November.

The new US&nbsp;sanctions will be announced while Trump&#39;s daughter, Ivanka, is visiting South Korea to attend a dinner with Moon and the closing ceremony of the Games. In addition to the dinner which will feature a kosher menu for Ivanka&#39;s dietary restrictions, the Blue House has planned a small traditional Korean music performance for her delegation.

Her visit coincides with that of a sanctioned North Korean official, Kim Yong Chol, blamed for the deadly 2010 sinking of a South Korean navy ship that killed 46 sailors. His delegation will also meet with Moon.

The Blue House has said there are no official opportunities for US&nbsp;and North Korean officials to meet.

Right person

Kim Yong Chol is the vice-chairman of the North&#39;s ruling Workers&#39; Party&#39;s Central Committee and was previously chief of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, a top North Korean military intelligence agency which South Korea blamed for the sinking of its navy corvette the Cheonan.

North Korea has denied any involvement in the sinking.

South Korea on Friday said it approved the Winter Olympic visit by Kim Yong Chol in the pursuit of peace and asked for public understanding.

&quot;Under current difficult circumstances, we have decided to focus on whether peace on the Korean peninsula and improvement in inter-Korean relations can be derived from dialogue with (the visiting North Korean officials), not on their past or who they are,&quot; said Unification Ministry Baik Tae-hyun in a media briefing.

A South Korean lawmaker briefed by the country&#39;s spy agency said on Friday that Kim was the &quot;right person&quot; for inter-Korean and denuclearisation talks.

&quot;Kim Yong Chol is the top official regarding inter-Korean relations and he is being accepted (here) as the right person to discuss various issues like easing military tension, improving inter-Korean ties and denuclearisation,&quot; said Kang Seok-ho to reporters.

Kim currently heads the United Front Department, the North&#39;s office responsible for handling inter-Korean affairs.

Protests against North Korea delegration&nbsp;

South Korea&#39;s decision on Thursday to allow Kim, currently sanctioned by the United States and South Korea, across the border has sparked protest from family members of the dead Cheonan sailors and opposition parties.

Some 70 members from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party staged a protest in front of the presidential Blue House on Friday, demanding the government withdraw its decision.

&quot;President Moon&#39;s decision to accept the North&#39;s facade of peace is a serious issue and it will go down in history as a crime eternal,&quot; said the party in a statement.

A group of family members of those killed in the Cheonan sinking has said it will hold a press conference against the decision on Saturday.

Acknowledging public angst over Kim&#39;s pending visit, Baik said the South&#39;s stance that the Cheonan sinking was instigated by the North has not changed.

&quot;However, what&#39;s important are efforts to create actual peace on the Korean peninsula so these kind of provocations don&#39;t occur again,&quot; said Baik, adding the government would make &quot;various efforts&quot; to assuage the public&#39;s concerns.

US Vice President Mike Pence had hinted at such a plan two weeks ago

The United States is due to announce its largest package of sanctions yet against North Korea to further pressure Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programme, as South Korea readies itself for more talks with the North's officials. Tougher sanctions may jeopardise the latest detente between the two Koreas amid their preparations to create conditions appropriate to hold a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. A senior US administration official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, called the new penalties "the largest package of new sanctions against the North Korea regime," without giving details. US Vice President Mike Pence had hinted at such a plan two weeks ago during a stop in Tokyo that preceded his visit to South Korea for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he wants to boost the "warm climate of reconciliation and dialogue" with South Korea after a high-level delegation including his sister returned from the Winter Olympics. Last year, North Korea conducted dozens of missile launches and its sixth and largest nuclear test in defiance of United Nations sanctions. However, it has now been more than two months since its last missile test in late November. The new US sanctions will be announced while Trump's daughter, Ivanka, is visiting South Korea to attend a dinner with Moon and the closing ceremony of the Games. In addition to the dinner which will feature a kosher menu for Ivanka's dietary restrictions, the Blue House has planned a small traditional Korean music performance for her delegation. Her visit coincides with that of a sanctioned North Korean official, Kim Yong Chol, blamed for the deadly 2010 sinking of a South Korean navy ship that killed 46 sailors. His delegation will also meet with Moon. The Blue House has said there are no official opportunities for US and North Korean officials to meet. Right person Kim Yong Chol is the vice-chairman of the North's ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee and was previously chief of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, a top North Korean military intelligence agency which South Korea blamed for the sinking of its navy corvette the Cheonan. North Korea has denied any involvement in the sinking. South Korea on Friday said it approved the Winter Olympic visit by Kim Yong Chol in the pursuit of peace and asked for public understanding. "Under current difficult circumstances, we have decided to focus on whether peace on the Korean peninsula and improvement in inter-Korean relations can be derived from dialogue with (the visiting North Korean officials), not on their past or who they are," said Unification Ministry Baik Tae-hyun in a media briefing. A South Korean lawmaker briefed by the country's spy agency said on Friday that Kim was the "right person" for inter-Korean and denuclearisation talks. "Kim Yong Chol is the top official regarding inter-Korean relations and he is being accepted (here) as the right person to discuss various issues like easing military tension, improving inter-Korean ties and denuclearisation," said Kang Seok-ho to reporters. Kim currently heads the United Front Department, the North's office responsible for handling inter-Korean affairs. Protests against North Korea delegration South Korea's decision on Thursday to allow Kim, currently sanctioned by the United States and South Korea, across the border has sparked protest from family members of the dead Cheonan sailors and opposition parties. Some 70 members from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party staged a protest in front of the presidential Blue House on Friday, demanding the government withdraw its decision. "President Moon's decision to accept the North's facade of peace is a serious issue and it will go down in history as a crime eternal," said the party in a statement. A group of family members of those killed in the Cheonan sinking has said it will hold a press conference against the decision on Saturday. Acknowledging public angst over Kim's pending visit, Baik said the South's stance that the Cheonan sinking was instigated by the North has not changed. "However, what's important are efforts to create actual peace on the Korean peninsula so these kind of provocations don't occur again," said Baik, adding the government would make "various efforts" to assuage the public's concerns.

Trump to announce new sanctions against North Korea; South Korea preps for talks with North

US president Donald Trump <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/south-korean-president-willing-to-hold-summit-with-kim-jong-un-29072">sidestepped the recent North, South Korean</a> peace moves at the Winter Olympics and unveiled the largest-ever sanctions on Kim Jong Un&#39;s regime.

Trump outlined sanctions against 56 entities linked to North Korea.

&quot;Today I am announcing that we are launching the largest-ever set of new sanctions on the North Korean regime,&quot;&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;said.

The US president said the Treasury Department will soon take action to further cut off sources of &quot;revenue and fuel&quot; that North Korea uses to fund its nuclear program and sustain its military.

Trump said the effort will target more than 50 &quot;vessels, shipping companies, and trade businesses that are assisting North Korea in evading sanctions.&quot;

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin confirmed the sanctions covered &quot;virtually all the ships&quot; North Korea is &quot;using at this moment in time.&quot;

US vice president Mike Pence on a visit to Japan recently had hinted about the&nbsp;sanctions which the US president has now put into effect.

The&nbsp;president&#39;s decision comes even as his daughter Ivanka is in South Korea for the Winter Olympics.

Trump&#39;s sanctions comes&nbsp;as tension in the Korean peninsula has cooled in recent weeks after North Korea decided to send a delegation for the Winter Olympics and took part in a joint ice skating team with its neighbour.

North Korea leader&#39;s sister Kim Yo Jong visited South Korea for the opening ceremony of the Winter Game at Pyeongchang which was closely followed worldwide, after a series of nuclear tests over the past several months by Kim had severely dented&nbsp;relations between the two nations.

The president's decision comes even as his daughter Ivanka is in South Korea for the Winter Olympics.

US president Donald Trump sidestepped the recent North, South Korean peace moves at the Winter Olympics and unveiled the largest-ever sanctions on Kim Jong Un's regime. Trump outlined sanctions against 56 entities linked to North Korea. "Today I am announcing that we are launching the largest-ever set of new sanctions on the North Korean regime," Trump said. The US president said the Treasury Department will soon take action to further cut off sources of "revenue and fuel" that North Korea uses to fund its nuclear program and sustain its military. Trump said the effort will target more than 50 "vessels, shipping companies, and trade businesses that are assisting North Korea in evading sanctions." Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin confirmed the sanctions covered "virtually all the ships" North Korea is "using at this moment in time." US vice president Mike Pence on a visit to Japan recently had hinted about the sanctions which the US president has now put into effect. The president's decision comes even as his daughter Ivanka is in South Korea for the Winter Olympics. Trump's sanctions comes as tension in the Korean peninsula has cooled in recent weeks after North Korea decided to send a delegation for the Winter Olympics and took part in a joint ice skating team with its neighbour. North Korea leader's sister Kim Yo Jong visited South Korea for the opening ceremony of the Winter Game at Pyeongchang which was closely followed worldwide, after a series of nuclear tests over the past several months by Kim had severely dented relations between the two nations.

Trump unveils 'largest-ever' sanctions against North Korea, targets fuel & shipping

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