SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The top U.S. envoy for North Korea returned from three days of talks in Pyongyang and will meet again with his North Korean counterpart before the second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi later this month, the U.S. State Department said.

Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, met with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Seoul’s chief nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon on Saturday to brief them on his negotiations with North Korea.

“Our discussions were productive,” Biegun said while meeting Kang. “President is very much looking forward to taking next steps. We have some hard work to do with DPRK between now and then. I am confident if both sides stay committed we can make real progress here,” he said, referring to North Korea by its formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

In Pyongyang, Biegun and Kim Hyok Chol, North Korea’s special representative for U.S. affairs, discussed “advancing Trump and Kim’s Singapore summit commitments of complete denuclearization, transforming U.S.-DPRK relations, and building a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula,” the State Department said in a statement.

It said that Biegun and Kim agreed to meet again before the leaders’ second summit, scheduled for Feb. 27-28 in Hanoi, Vietnam. Trump tweeted the venue on Friday in Washington, saying Biegun had just left North Korea after a “productive meeting” on the summit.

Trump added: “I look forward to seeing Chairman Kim & advancing the cause of peace!”

The president had previously announced Vietnam as the summit location, but the city hadn’t been identified.

Biegun is thought to have discussed specific disarmament steps that North Korea could promise at the Vietnam summit and what corresponding measures the United States is willing to take.

U.S.-led negotiations aimed at stripping North Korea of its nuclear weapons program has made little headway since the first Kim-Trump summit in Singapore last June, when Kim pledged to work toward the “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula, without providing a clear timetable or roadmap.

Experts say Kim is determined to win relief from U.S.-led sanctions to help revive his country’s troubled economy, while Trump, faced with domestic problems such as the Russian investigation, needs foreign policy achievements.

If the second summit fails to produce a breakthrough, skepticism about the current nuclear negotiations will grow. Some experts say North Korea is trying to use the negotiations to weaken the sanctions and buy time to perfect its weapons program.

Trump also tweeted: “North Korea, under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, will become a great Economic Powerhouse. He may surprise some but he won’t surprise me, because I have gotten to know him & fully understand how capable he is. North Korea will become a different kind of Rocket – an Economic one!”

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.</s>With a second summit looming between North Korea and the United States, the U.S. commander stationed in South Korea said Tuesday that there has been "little to no verifiable change" of North Korea's nuclear capabilities within the past year.

Speaking at the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Robert Abrams said that the June summit between the two countries helped ease tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.

But Abrams said that despite Pyongyang's reduction in hostile rhetoric, the North Korean military remains "formidable and dangerous, with no discernable differences in the assessed force structure, readiness, or lethality my predecessor reported in 2018."

Abrams said the security situation demands an "appropriately postured and ready force."

North Korea, which has a population of roughly 25 million, has one of the world's largest military forces.

"North Korea's conventional and asymmetric military capabilities, along with their continued development of advanced conventional systems, remains unchecked," Abrams said, adding that North Korea's nuclear capabilities put the U.S., South Korea and its allies at risk.

The June summit between North Korea leader Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump produced what many believed were vague assurances of nuclear disarmament. However, Trump stated that the summit left many "impressed" with Kim's promises of denuclearization.

"We both want to do something. We both are going to do something. And we have developed a very special bond," Trump said. "People are going to be very impressed. People are going to be very happy."

Along with the promise of North Korean denuclearization, the U.S. agreed to end extensive military exercises with South Korea. Lower-scale exercises are still practiced — a move which Abrams has called "necessary."

Abrams claimed there have been "no significant changes to size, scope or timing of [North Korea's] ongoing exercises compared to the same time period over the last four years."

Trump and Kim's second summit is scheduled to take place in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, from Feb. 27 to 28. Both leaders are expected to clarify terms from the June summit.</s>SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States and North Korea will meet again this month in an unidentified Asian country ahead of their leaders’ planned second summit in Vietnam in late February, South Korean officials said Sunday.

The U.S. special representative for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, visited Pyongyang last week to work out details of the Feb. 27-28 summit in Hanoi between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

After being briefed by Biegun about his discussions in North Korea, South Korea’s presidential office said that the U.S. and North Korea used Biegun’s trip as a chance to explain what concrete steps they want from each other.

South Korea’s national security adviser Chung Eui-yong, who met Biegun, reported that U.S.-North Korea diplomacy “is working well,” presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said. He said a follow-up U.S.-North Korea meeting ahead of the summit will take place in a third country in Asia in the week that begins Feb. 17.

In Pyongyang, Biegun and Kim Hyok Chol, North Korea’s special representative for U.S. affairs, discussed “advancing Trump and Kim’s Singapore summit commitments of complete denuclearization, transforming U.S.-(North Korea) relations, and building a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula,” the U.S. State Department said in a statement.

Trump and Kim met for their first summit in Singapore last June, during which Kim pledged to work toward the “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula, without providing a clear timetable or roadmap. U.S.-led diplomacy aimed at getting North Korea to abandon its nuclear program in return for outside concessions has since made little headway.

While announcing the specific location for his second summit with Kim, Trump on Friday tweeted that North Korea would someday become “a great Economic Powerhouse” under Kim’s leadership.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.</s>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will arrive in Vietnam on February 25 ahead of a planned second summit with US President Donald Trump. The pair are expected to discuss the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsular. Mr Trump previously claimed the US would have been 'in a major war with North Korea with potentially millions of people killed', had he not been elected.</s>
• None Iraqi Politicians Debate Future of U.S. Forces in Iraq and Ties with Iran –On February 11, Nassar al-Rubaie, a Sadrist official, and Hadi al-Ameri, the head of the Fatah Alliance, announced in a joint press conference an agreement between the two Shi’ite blocs on the need to remove foreign forces from Iraq. On February 12, United States Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan landed in Baghdad to discuss possible continued U.S. military presence in Iraq with Iraqi officials. On February 13, Abdul Amir al-Mayahi, a Member of Parliament for the Fatah Coalition, claimed that U.S. troops crossed the border into Iraq without providing prior to notification to the Iraqi government, thus breaching the Strategic Framework Agreement between the United States and Iraq. On February 13, the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the Islamic Azad University in Iran signed a cooperation agreement concerning scientific research, including agreed to exchange researchers and scholarships. On February 14, al-Sumaria reported that the Iraqi parliament will hold a hearing at the start of the second legislative term regarding the presence of foreign forces in Iraq. more…
• None Iraqi Officials Meet Foreign Counterparts; Budgetary Allocations to Iraq’s Provinces Revealed; KDP and PUK Negotiate Common Positions – On February 8, the French defense minister, Florence Parly, met with President Barham Salih to discuss strengthening Iraqi-French relations and the continuing fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). On February 11, the allocations of the 2019 budget for each Iraqi province were revealed. The province with the largest share of the budget is Baghdad, followed by Basra, Babil, Karbala, Dhi Qar, Diyala, Diwaniya, Najaf, Wasit, Maysan, Anbar, Salah ad-Din and Ninewa. On February 12, United Kingdom International Trade Minister William Fox wrote to Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi that the U.K. is willing to help resolve the water crisis in Basra province. On February 13, Iraqi Speaker of Parliament Mohammed Halbusi met with the Kuwaiti Emir, Sheikh al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah. On February 13, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) stated that it would like to sign an agreement with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to unify their position on a series of matters. more…
• None Militant Attacks Continue to Plague Iraq; Security Forces Target ISIS and Fake PMU – On February 8, militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) killed three young men in the Makhoul mountains in the Salah ad-Din province. On February 9, a roadside bomb killed two Iraqi soldiers in the Hit, a western city in the Anbar province. On February 11, the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office reported that ISIS remains a threat and continues to develop a global network of supporters. On February 11, Kurdistan 24 reported Iraqi security forces rescued six Yazidi women and their children during a “sting operation” targeting ISIS members. On February 12, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) reported that headquarters in Baghdad belonging to militant groups claiming affiliation to the PMF have been closed. On February 14, Iraqi security forces succeeded in freeing 30 civilians held by ISIS during an operation in the Salah ad-Din province. On February 14, an IED explosion in Samarra in southern Salah al-Din province killed eight members of the Saraya al-Salam militia. On February 14, a roadside bomb explosion in northern Salah al-Din province killed the director of the explosives control unit in the Salah al-Din police force, Colonel Ghaleb al-Duri. more…
• None Some IDPs Return Home, but Durable Solutions Lacking for 1.8 Million Still Displaced – On February 9, the Ministry of Displacement and Migration announced the closure of a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Lailan district of Kirkuk, following the return of 402 IDPs to their homes in the Hawija district. On February 10, the Ministry of Displacement and Migration reported that 109 internally displaced families returned to their homes in the Qa’im district in Anbar province from camps in al-’Ameriya and Fallujah. On February 11, Shafaaq News reported that many Iraqi Christians from the Northern Iraqi town of Bartella, Ninewa Province, fear returning home. On February 12, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) released a update showing that they have supported about 155,000 displaced people and refugees during the winter by providing aid and financial grants. On February 12, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) released a study they conducted on durable solutions for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Iraq. The study follows 4,000 displaced families living outside of camps; these families were interviewed at different stages of displacement to encourage more strategic solutions to the issues they face. On February 13, Rudaw reported that many Christians in Iraq are returning to live in camps for the displaced because of destruction, lack of livelihood opportunities and aid in their places of origin. more…
• None Budget Insufficient to Cover Food Rations; Sweden Increases Support for Mine Clearing; Hilla Prison Overcrowded – On February 9, Iraq’s Ministry of Trade announced that it cannot continue to provide food rations to Iraq’s population due to insufficient funds for the program in Iraq’s 2019 budget. On February 10, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) received approximately USD 8.3 million from the Swedish government to make headway in the Mine Action Strategy announced by the office last week. On February 10, the independent Iraqi Commission for Human Rights announced that the central prison in Hilla in overcrowded after visiting the facility. more…</s>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will arrive in Vietnam on Feb. 25 ahead of a planned second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, three sources with direct knowledge of Kims schedule told Reuters on Saturday.

Trump and Kim are due to meet in Hanoi on Feb. 27 and 28 following their historic first meeting last June in Singapore. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday Washington aims to get as far down the road as we can at the summit.

Kim will meet with Vietnamese officials when he arrives in Hanoi, said the sources, who requested anonymity citing the sensitivity and secrecy surrounding the movements of the North Korean leader.

He will also visit the Vietnamese manufacturing base of Bac Ninh and the industrial port town of Hai Phong, one source said.

Vietnams president and general secretary of the ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, will meet Kim ahead of a planned trip by Trong to neighboring Laos, one of the sources with direct knowledge told Reuters.

A Reuters witness saw Kims close aide, Kim Chang Son, in Hanoi on Saturday visiting a government guesthouse and the Metropole and Melia hotels in the center of the capital.

Reuters was first to report last month that Hanoi was preparing to receive Kim for a state visit this month.

Communist-ruled Vietnam, which has embraced economic reforms and developed close diplomatic ties with its former foe the United States, has been widely touted as a model of reform for isolated and impoverished North Korea.

The former Cold War allies, which share a similar socialist ideology and exchanged military and political support during the Vietnam War, are eyeing a new chapter in relations following Hanois opening up and embrace of the West.</s>United States President Donald Trump on Friday claimed that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize for starting dialogue with North Korea.

Speaking at a White House news conference, Trump claimed Abe had given him “the most beautiful copy of a letter that he sent to the people who give out a thing called the Nobel Prize”.

“He [Abe] said, ‘I have nominated you, respectfully, on behalf of Japan. I am asking them to give you the Nobel Peace Prize,’” said Trump, responding to a query on his summit in Vietnam with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

“Many other people feel that way, too,” Trump said. “I’ll probably never get it. But that’s OK.”

Trump and Kim will hold a second summit in Hanoi on February 27 and 28. The two leaders had met for the first time in June last year in Singapore for a historic summit, following which Kim committed to the “complete denuclearisation” of the Korean Peninsula.

Trump on Friday also complained that he would never get the Nobel Peace Prize despite his work in North Korea and warring Syria, Reuters reported.

Trump claimed that former President Barack Obama, who was given the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, had no idea why he was honoured. “He was there for about 15 seconds and he got the Nobel Prize. He said, ‘Oh, what did I get it for?’” Trump said. “With me, I probably will never get it.”

Obama was given the award for laying out the US commitment to “seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons”.

Trump claimed that he had saved three million people living in Syria’s rebel-held Idlib region from being killed after threatening Russia, Iran and the Syrian government against a planned offensive. “Nobody talks about that,” he said.</s>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will arrive in Vietnam on February 25 ahead of a planned second summit with US President Donald Trump. The pair are expected to discuss the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsular. Mr Trump previously claimed the US would have been 'in a major war with North Korea with potentially millions of people killed', had he not been elected.</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>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks at the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces on occasion of the 71st anniversary of the Korean People's Army (KPA) in Pyongyang, North Korea in this February 8, 2019 KCNA Photo. KCNA via REUTERS

HANOI (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will arrive in Vietnam on Feb. 25 ahead of a planned second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, three sources with direct knowledge of Kim’s schedule told Reuters on Saturday.

Trump and Kim are due to meet in Hanoi on Feb. 27 and 28 following their historic first meeting last June in Singapore. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday Washington aims to “get as far down the road as we can” at the summit.

Kim will meet with Vietnamese officials when he arrives in Hanoi, said the sources, who requested anonymity citing the sensitivity and secrecy surrounding the movements of the North Korean leader.

He will also visit the Vietnamese manufacturing base of Bac Ninh and the industrial port town of Hai Phong, one source said.

Vietnam’s president and general secretary of the ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, will meet Kim ahead of a planned trip by Trong to neighboring Laos, one of the sources with direct knowledge told Reuters.

A Reuters witness saw Kim’s close aide, Kim Chang Son, in Hanoi on Saturday visiting a government guesthouse and the Metropole and Melia hotels in the center of the capital.

Reuters was first to report last month that Hanoi was preparing to receive Kim for a state visit this month.

Communist-ruled Vietnam, which has embraced economic reforms and developed close diplomatic ties with its former foe the United States, has been widely touted as a model of reform for isolated and impoverished North Korea.

The former Cold War allies, which share a similar socialist ideology and exchanged military and political support during the Vietnam War, are eyeing a new chapter in relations following Hanoi’s opening up and embrace of the West.
North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un is to arrive in Vietnam on February 25 ahead of the second summit meeting between the two leaders on February 27–28 in Hanoi.