Sonu Sood

The planned talks among South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator, Noh Kyu-duk, and his US and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, come as Seoul is stepping up diplomacy to salvage its peace drive following a recent series of North Korean missile launches, including a hypersonic one last month, reports Yonhap News Agency.

Addressing reporters in Washington Thursday, Department spokesman Ned Price also stressed that the US remains actively engaged in diplomacy with its allies to discuss ways to enhance their collective security, reports Yonhap News Agency. "We do stand prepared to meet with the DPRK without preconditions. We have made, in fact, specific proposals to the DPRK and we will await a response. We will await outreach from the DPRK." DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name

In a parliamentary audit on Wednesday, Lee said the countries are also discussing ways to bring North Korea back to the dialogue table that may include the provision of humanitarian assistance to the impoverished country, reports Yonhap News Agency. "(We) are discussing various ways to build trust such as the provision of humanitarian assistance to create a favourable condition for talks with North Korea," the diplomat said.

State media carried several articles stressing the ruling party and leader Kim Jong un's devotion to the country, but no major celebrations or party meetings were reported as of early Sunday morning, Yonhap news agency reported.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that it has begun shipping Covid-19 medical supplies to North Korea through the Chinese port of Dalian, indicating that Pyongyang might be opening a maritime route that has been blocked since July last year due to the pandemic, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The report issued on Monday by a panel of experts on North Korean sanctions also said the North continues to evade sanctions by ever sophisticating means, reports Yonhap News Agency. "During the reporting period, despite the country's focus on its worsening economic travails, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea continued to maintain and develop its nuclear and ballistic missile programs," said the report, referring to North Korea by its official name.

According to the poll of 1,200 adults by the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies (IPUS) at Seoul National University, 44.6 per cent replied that unification is necessary, recording the lowest percentage since the survey began in 2007, reports Yonhap News Agency. The proportion of those who replied that unification was unnecessary stood at 29.4 per cent, it showed.

On Monday, the two Koreas reopened the cross-border communication lines following a near two-month suspension, Yonhap news agency reported. The move came hours after the North's state media announced that the lines would be back in normal operation as of 9 a.m. on the day. The resumption of daily calls came 55 days after the North began refusing to answer South Korea's calls in protest of an annual combined military exercise between the South and the US.

The two sides had contact through a military hotline and a separate joint liaison office channel, Yonhap News Agency quoted South Korean officials as saying. Hours earlier, North Korea's state media announced that the lines would be back to normal operation as of 9 a.m. on the day. The hotlines were briefly back in operation in late July before being suspended by North Korea in protest of an annual combined military exercise of South Korea and the US.

Psaki made the remark on Friday after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un accused the US of harbouring a hostile intent toward the North, reports Yonhap News Agency. "We remain prepared to discuss the full range of issues," Psaki said when asked about Kim's speech at a parliamentary meeting earlier this week.