US Envoy to UN Won't Rule Out War With DPRK Ahead of Crucial Trump-Kim Talks

Speaking to CBS News Sunday Morning, the US ambassador to the UN was asked whether she could confirm that the Trump administration seemed be prepared for war with Pyongyang amid rising tensions in recent months. Haley responded that such an armed conflict remained "an option."

"No one wants war. The president doesn't want war. I don't want war. No one wants war. But it is an option," she said.

The statement came just hours after a North Korean foreign ministry spokesperson accused the US of "ruining the mood" of détente and "deliberately provoking the DPRK at the time when the situation on the Korean Peninsula is moving toward peace and reconciliation."

Pyongyang Dismisses Trump's Claim N Korea's Denuclearization Drive is US Merit

6 May 2018, 10:24 GMT

Amid recent statements by US officials, including President Trump, that Pyongyang's willingness to proceed with talks on denuclearization was the result of sanctions and pressure, the North Korean spokesperson warned that Washington shouldn't "miscalculate" the "peace-loving intention of the DPRK as a sign of 'weakness' and continues to pursue its pressure and military threats against the latter."

This week, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported that Trump and Kim are likely to hold their talks in Singapore in mid-June. If all goes to plan, the talks will be historic, becoming the first time that a sitting US president has ever met with a North Korean leader. President Trump confirmed Friday that a date and location for the meeting had been chosen, but offered no further details.

Analyst Explains Why US Won’t Be Reducing Troop Numbers in South Korea

5 May 2018, 02:44 GMT

Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in held a historic inter-Korean summit late last month, signing the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula. The document commits the two countries to work together to bring a formal end to the Korean War, while easing divisions and confrontation. The declaration also includes an article on the denuclarization of the peninsula.

North and South Korea have formally remained in a state of war since 1953, with Pyongyang, Seoul, Beijing and Washington never reaching a formal peace accord to end the Korean War of 1950-1953.