SEOUL: Top US, South Korean and Japanese officials have discussed how to achieve a complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula ahead of upcoming inter-Korean and US-North Korean summit talks. Seoul has said previously that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed to hold summit talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in late April. Seoul says Kim proposed meeting with President Donald Trump , and Trump agreed to him by the end of May.The developments have raised hopes for a potential breakthrough in the North Korean nuclear crisis.US National Security Adviser HR McMaster met his South Korean and Japanese counterparts in San Francisco for talks over the weekend on denuclearization and the summit talks.South Korea's presidential office says the three agreed to maintain close trilateral cooperation. </s> SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has agreed to hold high-level talks with South Korea on March 29 at the border truce village of Panmunjom to prepare for a summit of their leaders planned for April, the South said on Saturday.

A team of three officials will be led by Ri Son Gwon, the chairman of North Korea’s committee for the peaceful reunification of the country, the North told its neighbour early on Saturday, the South’s Unification Ministry said.

“This morning, North Korea sent a message through a communication channel in Panmunjom agreeing to our suggestion made on the 22nd to hold high-level inter-Korea talks,” the ministry said in a statement.

The stakes are higher for a potential summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and his North Korean counterpart that may take place by the end of May, however.

Trump this week named John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations famed for his hawkish views on Pyongyang, to replace White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster.

Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on March 13, saying the two had disagreed over Iran and other foreign policy matters.

The Korean talks set for March 29 will precede musical performances in Pyongyang in early April by a group of South Korean singers making a reciprocal visit after the North sent performers to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

Artists of both nations will collaborate for a show on April 3, the South’s Yonhap news agency said, citing an aide of President Moon Jae-in.

Moon plans to hold a summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un by the end of April. </s> TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will host a summit with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Tokyo on May 9 to discuss regional issues, the government said on Tuesday, with observers expecting North Korea to be high on the agenda.

The meeting, which has been hosted in turn by each of the three nations since the first one was held in Japan in 2008, aims to strengthen dialogue and cooperation. It is the third time Japan has hosted the meeting, the Foreign Ministry said.

Bracketing the summit, Li will make a state visit to Japan from May 8 to 11, during which he will meet Emperor Akihito, the ministry added.

Moon held a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday, when both sides agreed to work toward denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. Kim is also due to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in coming weeks. </s> TOKYO, May 1 (Reuters) - Japan will host a summit with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Tokyo on May 9 to discuss regional issues, the government said on Tuesday, with observers expecting North Korea to be high on the agenda.

The meeting, which has been hosted in turn by each of the three nations since the first one was held in Japan in 2008, aims to strengthen dialogue and cooperation. It is the third time Japan has hosted the meeting, the Foreign Ministry said.

Bracketing the summit, Li will make a state visit to Japan from May 8 to 11, during which he will meet Emperor Akihito, the ministry added.

Moon held a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday, when both sides agreed to work towards denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. Kim is also due to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in coming weeks. </s> "National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster of the United States, National Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong of the Republic of Korea, and Secretary General of the National Security Secretariat Shotaro Yachi of Japan held a trilateral meeting on March 17 and 18 in San Francisco to discuss the permanent denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the planned inter-Korean summit and United States-Democratic People’s Republic of Korea summit," the release said.

On March 5-6, a high-ranking South Korean delegation visited North Korea for talks with Kim Jong-un. South Korean diplomats later delivered a message from Kim Jong-un to Donald Trump, in which the former expressed his willingness to hold direct talks. Trump accepted the invitation to meet with Kim by the end of May. </s> North and South Korea will hold a summit at their heavily armed border next month, Seoul’s envoy said Tuesday after meeting with Kim Jong Un on a trip to Pyongyang.

“The South and the North agreed to hold the third summit at... Panmunjom in late April,” said Chung Eui-yong, the national security adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-In, referring to the truce village at the heavily-fortified border.

If realised, the summit will be the third meeting between the leaders of the two Koreas, which technically remain at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice instead of a peace treaty.

The previous two summits were held in 2000 and 2007, respectively, under South Korean presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun who both advocated dialogue with Pyongyang.

They both met with Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il.

The two Koreas also agreed to open communication hotline between Moon and Kim to “defuse military tension and to have close coordination,” Chung said Tuesday.

The two leaders will have their first phone conversation before the planned summit, he added.

North Korea also pledged that it would freeze its nuclear and missile testing programme during the period of dialogue. </s> SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Leaders of South Korea, Japan and China will meet next week for a summit expected to focus on North Korea's nuclear program and other regional issues.

The three Asian countries have been holding regular trilateral summits since late 2008.

South Korea's presidential office said Tuesday that President Moon Jae-in will attend the May 9 meeting in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

The Japanese government also confirmed the meeting.

Moon's office says he will brief Abe and Li about the results of his recent summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

It says Moon also plans to discuss ways to boost three-way cooperation in achieving denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. </s> Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe(R) will host a summit with President Moon Jae-in (L) of South Korea and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Tokyo on May 9 to discuss regional issues, the government said on Tuesday, with observers expecting North Korea to be high on the agenda.

[TOKYO] Japan will host a summit with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Tokyo on May 9 to discuss regional issues, the government said on Tuesday, with observers expecting North Korea to be high on the agenda.

The meeting, which has been hosted in turn by each of the three nations since the first one was held in Japan in 2008, aims to strengthen dialogue and cooperation. It is the third time Japan has hosted the meeting, the Foreign Ministry said.

Bracketing the summit, Mr Li will make a state visit to Japan from May 8 to 11, during which he will meet Emperor Akihito, the ministry added.

Mr Moon held a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday, when both sides agreed to work towards denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. Kim is also due to meet US President Donald Trump in coming weeks. </s> SEOUL, March 21 (UPI) -- There could be a three-way summit between the two Koreas and the United States, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday.

In a committee meeting held to prepare for the inter-Korean summit in April, Moon said the upcoming cross-border talks followed by a summit between the North and the United States is a historical event in itself.

"Depending on their outcomes, they may lead to a three-way summit of the South, North and the United States," he said, according to Yonhap.

The South Korean leader stressed the pivotal role of the scheduled summits in efforts to denuclearize North Korea, saying it cannot only be realized between the two Koreas.

"This would require the normalization of U.S.-North relations or even economic cooperation between them," he said.

Moon and North Korean Kim Jong Un are scheduled to hold talks in the truce village of Panmunjom late next month, while U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet Kim by the end of May.

With preparations underway, Seoul officials hope to hold high-level discussions with Pyongyang next Thursday to make arrangements for the cross-border talks, Maeil Business Daily reported.

The South will soon propose the meeting to the North through the Unification Ministry, Presidential Spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said Wednesday.
South Korea and North Korea agree to hold a summit in April 2018.