North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho made a surprise visit to Sweden, meeting with his Swedish counterpart Margot Wallstrom and Prime Minister Stefan Lofven ahead of a possible meeting with U.S. President Donald J. Trump. Their discussions allegedly focused on tensions between the two Koreas, and Sweden’s diplomatic work on behalf of the U.S. in North Korea, the Swedish foreign ministry said. The European nation has frequently acted as an intermediary between Washington and Pyongyang (BBC)
Trump to Meet Kim Jong-un by May
U.S. President Donald J. Trump has accepted an invitation by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, delivered by South Korea’s national security advisor, Chung Eui-yong, to meet within the next two months to discuss North Korea’s denuclearization (Washington Post)
U.S. Imposes New Sanctions on North Korea
The U.S. State Department said Pyongyang used chemical agents in violation of international law, imposing sanctions that appear to be a symbolic addition to ones the regime already faces (Yonhap)
Kim Ready to Talk Denuclearization, Seoul Says
South Korean envoys say Pyongyang is willing to discuss giving up its nuclear weapons and start negotiations with Washington following an unprecedented meeting with the North’s Kim Jong-un. Pyongyang said it would freeze all weapons testing during the proposed negotiations, according to Seoul, which also announced that President Moon Jae-in and the North Korean leader will attend a summit in the border village of Panmunjom late next month (New York Times)
UN Report Links North Korea to Syrian Weapons Programs
A report by a panel of experts investigating North Korea’s compliance with UN sanctions found links between North Korea and the Syrian chemical weapons program, including North Korean shipments supplies that could be used to produce chemical weapons and ballistic missile parts and materials between 2012 and 2017 (New York Times)
South Korea Says North Open to U.S. Talks
North Korean envoys at the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang told their counterparts from the South they are open to dialogue with the United States. The White House said any talks should represent the “first steps” on a path toward denuclearization (Washington Post)
U.S. Announces New Sanctions on North Korea
U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced today a new set of sanctions on North Korea, targeting fifty-six vessels and shipping companies accused of conducting trade prohibited under previous sanctions (Washington Post)
North Korean Delegation to Attend Olympics Closing
A high-level North Korean delegation will attend the Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday, raising the prospect of a second inter-Korean meeting, says South Korea’s Unification Ministry. The announcement comes shortly after the White House said that Ivanka Trump, the daughter of President Donald J. Trump, will lead attend the event (Wall Street Journal)
North Korea Pulled Out of Meeting With U.S.
U.S. administration officials said that North Korean officials, including the sister of leader Kim Jong-un, backed out of a meeting with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence during the Winter Olympics the day it would have taken place (Wall Street Journal)
Pence Says U.S. Open to Talks With North Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s sister delivered messages of reconciliation and an unexpected invitation from her brother to President Moon Jae-in to visit Pyongyang (New York Times)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said he and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have agreed for the South to pursue further engagement with North Korea, after which the United States could follow. Pence called the policy shift “maximum pressure and engagement at the same time” (Washington Post)
U.S. Vice President Pence in North Korea
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, leading the U.S. delegation to the Winter Olympic Games, met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and reaffirmed the United States‘ commitment to its ally, saying that North Korea has to “accept change” regardless of what emerges during the Olympics (Voice of America)
He later met with North Korean defectors ahead Friday’s opening ceremony, condemning the North Korean regime’s brutality (Korea Times)
South Korea’s Moon to Meet Kim Yo-jong
President Moon Jae-in will hold talks with Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, this weekend when she visits the South for the Winter Olympics (Korea Times)
North Korea to Send Top Official to South for Olympics
Ninety-year-old Kim Yong-nam, North Korea’s nominal head of state, will visit South Korea with a delegation of twenty-two officials for the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang this week (BBC)
Candidate for U.S. Embassy in Seoul Withdrawn
Victor Cha was withdrawn from consideration for the post of U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, after expressing disagreement with the White House’s North Korea policy and raising concerns over the reported consideration of a so-called “bloody nose” strategy involving a limited strike on North Korea. The position has been vacant for over eighteen months (Washington Post)
U.S. General Casts Doubt on North Korean Missile Capabilities
The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said yesterday that North Korea has not yet demonstrated that it possesses all the elements needed for an intercontinental ballistic missile. The general questioned whether missiles crafted using Pyongyang’s current technology could survive reentry into the atmosphere (Reuters)
North Korea Calls Off Pre-Olympic Event With South
North Korea canceled a joint cultural event with the South that was to be held at a North Korean resort ahead of the Winter Olympics, citing “insulting” press coverage (New York Times)
North Korea Calls for Unity as Athletes Arrive in South
In a rare move, North Korean state media called for all Koreans to work toward unification and improve North-South relations. The statement came as a delegation of athletes traveled to the South to train as part of a joint Olympic women’s ice hockey team (Reuters)
U.S. Presses China to Expel North Korean Agents
The top U.S. envoy for international sanctions held high-level meetings in China this week to urge the country to expel North Korean agents she said are financially facilitating Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and missile programs (Wall Street Journal)
Inter-Korean Talks to Continue, Says South Korean Minister
South Korea’s foreign minister said that Seoul should “make the most” of its opportunity to speak with Pyongyang following warnings from allies that the North is buying time to continue its nuclear program (BBC)
South Korea announced after talks with its northern neighbor that athletes from the two countries will march under one flag in the upcoming Winter Olympics (Wall Street Journal)
China Criticizes U.S., Canada Over North Korea Meeting
Top diplomats gathered in Vancouver, Canada, yesterday for a meeting of twenty nations who backed South Korea during the 1950–53 Korean War to discuss imposing tougher sanctions on the North (Reuters)
The countries agreed to go beyond UN measures and to impose unilateral sanctions to put pressure on Pyongyang. China and Russia were not invited to the talks, which were hosted by the United States and Canada (Voice of America)
China criticized the host countries‘ decision to not include “major parties to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue,” calling it “Cold War thinking” (Associated Press)
North Korea to Join in Winter Olympics After Talks With South
North Korea will send a delegation of athletes to the upcoming Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Seoul announced today following the first high-level talks between the Koreas in two years. South Korea’s unification minister met his North Korean counterpart in the border village of Panmunjom for the talks, and the group of North Korean athletes is expected to march alongside South Koreans during the opening and closing ceremonies (New York Times)
North Korea Accepts South’s Offer for Talks
North Korean officials will travel to a village across their southern border next Tuesday for high-level talks about Pyongyang’s participation in the upcoming Winter Olympics. U.S. President Donald J. Trump reportedly said he supports the move to “de-conflict the Olympics” (Korea Times)
U.S., South Korea to Delay Annual Military Exercise
U.S. President Donald J. Trump today agreed to a request from South Korean President Moon Jae-in to postpone an annual joint military exercise until after the Winter Olympics, which will be held in the South Korean city of Pyeongchang in February 2018 (Washington Post)
North, South Korea Reopen Border Hotline
Liaison officers from North and South Korea spoke on a hotline between the countries today for the first time since the line was closed in February 2016. A spokesperson from the North said that leader Kim Jong-un “welcomed” South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s offer to discuss receiving a delegation of athletes from the North for the upcoming Winter Olympics there (Guardian)
The North’s tensions with the United States again flared yesterday, as President Donald J. Trump tweeted that U.S. nuclear capabilities are “more powerful” than those of Pyongyang (Financial Times)
Vessel Suspected of Delivering Oil to North Korea Seized
South Korean authorities seized a Hong Kong–flagged ship they accused of transferring six hundred tons of refined petroleum to a North Korean vessel in violation of UN Security Council sanctions (New York Times)