HANOI (AFP) - Communist-run but with capitalist leanings, and a friend to both the United States and North Korea, Vietnam will host the next summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jung Un from February 27-28.Like North Korea, Vietnam was once locked in a bloody and bitter war with the US.But unlike Pyongyang, Hanoi now counts Washington among its closest allies, emerging from the ravages of war to become one of the fastest growing economies in Asia -- and one of the most diplomatically savvy.Here a

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will hold a two-day summit with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un Feb. 27-28 in Vietnam to continue his efforts to persuade Kim to give up his nuclear weapons.    Trump has said his outreach to Kim and their first meeting last June in Singapore opened a path to peace. But there is not yet a concrete plan for how denuclearization could be implemented.    Denuclearizing North Korea is something that has eluded the US for more than two decades, since it was

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un plan to hold their second summit in Vietnam Feb. 27-28, a news report said Tuesday.Trump revealed the dates to a group of reporters hours before his State of the Union address, Politico reported.More details are expected to be announced during the speech at the House chamber later in the day, it added. (Yonhap)Trump said earlier that the date and venue of the highly anticipated summit were set, and that he planned to announce them dur

The US envoy for North Korea arrived in Pyongyang Wednesday for talks with his North Korean counterpart on the upcoming bilateral summit. Special Representative Stephen Biegun left Seoul earlier in the day to fly to the North Korean capital where he will meet his counterpart, Kim Hyok-chol. The meeting comes as the second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is being planned to take place in Vietnam from Feb 27 to 28. Biegun took a plane to Pyongyang from

The US envoy for North Korea will travel to Pyongyang on Wednesday for talks with his North Korean counterpart on this month's planned summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, the State Department said.Special Representative Stephen Biegun will visit the North Korean capital from Seoul to meet with his newly appointed counterpart, Kim Hyok-chol, and prepare for the US president's second meeting with the North Korean leader, the department said Monday.The two men will also "advance further pr

North Korea stepped up restrictions on the use of Chinese mobile networks near the border last year in an apparent effort to control the flow of outside information, human rights organization Amnesty International has said.In a recent report on North Korea’s human rights situation, the group said the reclusive regime has strengthened efforts to trace the activities of smuggled mobile phones using Chinese networks and block the signals in the border areas over the past few years. “Individuals int

South Korea will begin to push for a meeting between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un following the end of the Lunar New Year’s Day to help implement the North’s denuclearization pledge that will likely be refined in an upcoming US-North Korea summit, observers here noted Monday.The Moon-Kim summit, if held, will mark the fourth of its kind since the two leaders first met in April 2018 at the border village of Panmunjom inside the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone. Th

The US envoy for North Korea visited Cheong Wa Dae on Monday for a meeting with the top security adviser to discuss details of an upcoming second summit between Washington and Pyongyang, South Korea's presidential office said.Special Representative Stephen Biegun spoke with National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong for 50 minutes starting at 4 p.m., according to presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom.The meeting comes ahead of Biegun's working-level talks with his North Korean counterpart Kim Hyok-

The US envoy for North Korea is set to visit South Korea on Sunday for working-level talks to prepare for a second summit between the US and the North's leaders slated for late this month, sources said.Special Representative Stephen Biegun will make a three-day visit to Seoul for talks with his North Korean counterpart Kim Hyok-chol, a former ambassador to Spain, to discuss agenda items for a summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, they added.They may have a

The United States and North Korea will likely hold their working-level talks on a proposed meeting of their leaders at a joint border village of the two Koreas, informed sources said Saturday.They said the talks may begin as early as Monday."The date and venue of the North Korea-U.S. dialogue have yet to be announced, but Panmunjom seems like the most likely venue for now," a diplomatic source here said. Panmunjeom is seen in the April 26, 2018 file photo. (Yonhap)The working-level dialogue will

The month of February will be critical to the denuclearization of North Korea, a high-level South Korean official familiar with the matter said Thursday. Speaking on the condition of anonymity the official said North Korea’s attitude toward related issues appears to have changed from the past and that concerned parties must strive to keep momentum alive.  US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House on Thursday. He said that major progress has been made with North Korea. Yonh

The US envoy for North Korea will meet with his counterpart from the regime next week to discuss the next steps in dismantling the country's nuclear weapons program, the State Department said Thursday.Special Representative Stephen Biegun is to arrive in Seoul on Sunday (local time) for working-level talks with his new North Korean counterpart, Kim Hyok-chol, a former ambassador to Spain. (AFP)The two sides will discuss "next steps to advance our objective of the final fully verified denucleariz

The US envoy for North Korea called on the regime Thursday to provide a full declaration of its nuclear and missile programs as a second bilateral summit appeared only weeks away.Special Representative Stephen Biegun, who is in charge of day-to-day negotiations with the North, said the declaration will be required to acknowledge complete denuclearization of the regime.(AP)"Before the process of denuclearization can be final, we must have a complete understanding of the full extent of the North K

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that a date and venue for his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will be announced next week.Speaking at the White House, he reaffirmed the plan to hold the meeting in late February and appeared to confirm reports the venue will be Vietnam.(AP)"We'll be announcing it early next week," Trump said. "We're going to a certain location. I think most of you know where the location is. I don't think it's any great secret, but we'll be announcing t

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that the second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will be held in Asia next month.In an interview with Fox News, the top US diplomat reaffirmed the plan to have the summit at the end of February and added, "We'll do it someplace in Asia." (Yonhap)While media reports have speculated that Vietnam will host the meeting, it's the first time that a US official has revealed a location."I am dispatching a team,"