Senior North Korean and United States officials are expected to meet in Washington at the end of this week to discuss a second summit between the countries' leaders, South Korean media reported on Tuesday.

A diplomatic source in Seoul cited by Chosun Ilbo newspaper and Yonhap news agency indicated that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is to meet with Kim Yong-chol on Thursday or Friday to discuss details of a second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump. </s> Seoul: The United States and North Korea plan to hold high-level talks in Washington this week to discuss a second summit of their leaders, following a prolonged stalemate in nuclear talks, according to an unnamed diplomatic source.

The meeting, led by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol, would happen on Thursday or Friday, Washington time, South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo said, citing an unnamed source.

Both sides are expected to finalise the date and location of a second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and the North's envoy is likely to meet Trump, the paper said.

Asked about the report, a State Department official said: "We don't have any meetings to announce." </s> The President of the United States Donald Trump reportedly plans to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on February 27-28.

The meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un is planned to take place in Vietnam, Politico reported.

Trump is reportedly expected to formally announce details of his second summit with Kim during his State of the Union address to Congress later on Tuesday night.

Earlier, the US State Department said in a press release that US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun was about to travel to Pyongyang on February 6 for talks to prepare for the second summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.

The long-standing tensions on the Korean Peninsula started to ease after Kim Jong-un committed to denuclearization of Korean peninsula and held historic summits with US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. </s> Seoul: Three North Korean officials, including its top envoy involved in negotiations with the United States, are booked on a flight to Washington from Beijing on Thursday, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and senior North Korean official Kim Yong-chol are expected to meet on Thursday or Friday, Washington time, in the US capital to discuss a second summit between their leaders, CNN and South Korean media reported citing sources familiar with the issue.

A meeting could mean the two sides are nearing a compromise after months of standoff over how to move forward in ending North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes.

Kim Yong-chol, along with North Korea's vice foreign minister Choe Son-hui, and a third official, have reservations on a United Airlines flight leaving Beijing on Thursday evening for Washington, Yonhap said on Wednesday, citing an unidentified Chinese airport official. </s> Two senior South Korean officials who met with North Korea's Kim Jong Un last week will split up to meet with leaders of China and Japan this week, a South Korean presidential official says.

Blue House spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said in a mobile message that National Security Office head Chung Eui-yong will meet with China's Xi Jinping on Monday while spy agency chief Suh Hoon will speak with Japan's Shinzo Abe on Tuesday.

Chung and Suh will leave for China and Japan separately on Monday to discuss their visit to North Korea with officials there. Chung is also scheduled to visit Russia after his trip to Beijing, but the details of that have yet to be announced.

The two officials returned on Sunday from a visit to the United States where an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for dialogue on his nuclear program was delivered to US President Donald Trump.

Trump agreed to meet with Kim and the two are expected to have the meeting some time before the end of May, although a time and place has not been set.

A Blue House official told reporters earlier on Sunday the truce village of Panmunjom at the inter-Korean border is a strong candidate for the US-North Korea summit. Kim will meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at Panmunjom before the end of April for the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade.

Other locations being floated in the media for the meeting between Trump and Kim include Switzerland, Sweden and the South Korean resort island of Jeju.

Officials from North Korea and the United States will speak directly with each other, while South Korea will be asked to consult with both, the South Korean official said. </s> The United States and North Korea plan to hold high-level talks in Washington as soon as this week to discuss a second summit of their leaders, following a prolonged stalemate in nuclear talks, South Korean media said on Tuesday.

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▶ View Transcript </s> HANOI (DPA) - North Korean and United States officials landed in Hanoi on Saturday (Feb 16) as all three countries prepare for the upcoming summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, state media reported.

The two delegations are expected to organise logistical coordination for the summit, the VnExpress news site reported.

Hanoi police also said they would dispatch 96 patrol groups to crack down on crime in the 10 days preceding the summit. City landmarks will also be put on round-the-clock police surveillance.

Security for the summit is expected to be tight. While the risk of terrorism is considered extremely low in Vietnam, the capital's density makes the city harder for bodyguards on both the North Korean and US teams to secure their bosses.

Mr Trump and Mr Kim previously met in Singapore in June 2018 following a heated exchange of words, with both threatening war between their nuclear armed states.

Even though Mr Trump has portrayed the first meeting as resolving conflict over the North Korean nuclear programme, Pyongyang has done little to denuclearise the peninsula and US intelligence officials say the country is unlikely to totally disarm.

But as the second summit looms, Vietnam, a former wartime foe of the US, has offered to mediate discussions between Pyongyang and Washington, urging both sides to show restraint.

Speaking in Hanoi in July 2018, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he wished for North Korea to replicate Vietnam's economic development and reconciliation with the US. </s> SEOUL - South Korean security officials may visit North Korea to finalize details ahead for the first summit since 2007, where the South hopes the North will confirm a commitment to give up its nuclear programme, a South Korean official said on Tuesday.

After meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang in March, South Korea’s national security adviser and spy chief said Kim was committed to denuclearising the Korean peninsula and had expressed a willingness to meet United States (US) President Donald Trump.

The two sides are due to hold “working-level” talks on Wednesday and then South Korea’s intelligence chief, Suh Hoon, or its national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, could visit the North to finish off preparations, if deemed necessary, South Korean presidential chief of staff, Im Jong-seok, told reporters.

The 27 April summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim is scheduled to take place in the border village of Panmunjom.

That is expected to be followed by a meeting between Kim and Trump in late May or early June, which would mark the first meeting between sitting leaders of the two countries.

“Even though our special envoys confirmed his denuclearisation will, it is entirely different if the two leaders confirm it directly among themselves and put that into text,” Im said.

“We expect the summit will confirm the denuclearisation will (of North Korea), and hope to have a comprehensive agreement with the North on the matter,” he said.

Reclusive North Korea has been pursuing nuclear and missile programs in defiance of United Nations (UN) Security Council sanctions. It conducted its most powerful nuclear test last year and has sought to develop a missile capable of hitting the US mainland.

But Kim has changed course since the beginning of the year, sending a delegation to the Winter Olympics held in South Korea in February and agreeing to discuss with South Korea and the United States a nuclear programs the North has defended as a necessary deterrent against US invasion.

The two Koreas are discussing the wording of a joint statement that could be released at the summit, Im said.

Moon has been reviewing a framework of the statement which could be called the 27 April declaration or the Panmunjom declaration, he said.

The statement would likely focus on issues of denuclearisation and peace on the Korean peninsula, and an improvement in relations not only between the two Koreas but also with other countries including the United States.

“This summit is significant because it will set the stage for the North Korea-US summit, and even a possible three-way summit between the countries,” Im said.

“Without US support and agreement, it will be difficult to follow through on inter-Korean agreements.”

Any joint statement is unlikely to include economic cooperation with the North, Im said.

UN Security Council sanctions imposed since North Korea’s first nuclear test in 2006 and strengthened over the past decade aim to cut North Korea off from international trade.

The two Koreas agreed last month to install a hotline for their leaders to help defuse military tension and facilitate consultation.

The telephone line could be operational by around Friday, but it is not clear when Moon and Kim would use it the first time, Im said.

The two leaders will meet at Peace House, a South Korean building inside Panmunjom, making Kim the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the 1950-53 Korean War.

Discussions are underway about live coverage of part of the meeting, Im said.

North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because the Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea as a legacy of the conflict. </s> SEOUL, April 8 (UPI) -- South Korea's top office expressed optimism on reports of contact between Washington and Pyongyang, to arrange a summit between their leaders in May.

A senior presidential official told Yonhap Sunday that if direct contact is being initiated between the United States and North Korea, Seoul sees it as a positive signal.

The liberal Moon Jae-in administration has been pushing for dialogue with the North, in efforts to achieve denuclearization as well as the establishment of peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The official's remarks came after CNN reported that Washington has been holding "secret, direct talks" to prepare for the upcoming summit between Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Quoting various U.S. officials, the report said a team at the Central Intelligence Agency, led by its Director Mike Pompeo, has been working through back-channels to make arrangements for the high-profile talks.

According to the report, American officials are said to have spoken several times with their North Korean counterparts, and even met up with them up to three times to discuss preparations.

The U.S. President, last month, told South Korean presidential envoys that he accepted Kim's invitation for talks on denuclearization and would hold the talks in May.

Since then, the North Korean leader has reaffirmed his commitment to discussing denuclearization as well as his willingness to hold summit talks with the South Korean and U.S. presidents.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is continuing to pressure the North regarding its flagrant violations of human rights, the Voice of America reported Sunday.

The U.S. broadcasted quoted Katina Adams, spokeswoman for the State Department's Bureau for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, who said Washington will continue to exert pressure on Pyongyang in order to ensure it respects the basic freedom and human rights of its citizens.

She said the U.S. is deeply concerned about the state of North Korean citizens' well-being.

Regarding scepticism in Washington on the possibility of the North dismantling its nukes, Adams said the North Korean leader has asserted his willingness to denuclearize and to refrain from additional nuclear and missile test, and that he understands South Korea-U.S. joint military drills will continue as scheduled.
South Korean media reports that North Korean officials are expected to visit the United States to discuss a second summit between the two countries at an unspecified date.