Anti-nuclear group offers to foot summit bill for North Korea’s Kim

With just one week to go to the summit, hosted by Singapore, very few details have been publicly confirmed.

But Kim has also conducted his own parallel outreach – holding two meetings with South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in, and sending envoys to meet with teams from the South on other initiatives such as possible gatherings for families separated by the Korean War more than 60 years ago.

It was unclear when the changes were carried out, but plans to replace Kim Jong Gak were reported in the North Korean media last month, Yonhap said.

President Donald Trump’s hawkish national security adviser, John Bolton, infuriated North Korea with a unusual and threatening comment about denuclearization in May, and now he seems excluded from the talks.

The Russian leader said Moscow has “big hopes” for the success of the meeting set for June 12. That time is 01:00 GMT and 21:00 Tuesday 11 June in Washington.

Asked if the USA would continue with Mr Trump’s policy of placing “maximum pressure” on Pyongyang, Ms Sanders said that view had not changed.

North Korea made no immediate reference to any military changes, and it remains hard to assess whether the shake-up could signal a significant change in North Korean policies.

Trump said last week he’d avoid using the phrase because of improving relations between the two countries. DPRK is short for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the formal name of North Korea. “I think he is pulling in people who are more loyal to him as he may be getting some pushback on this stuff he is doing with the Americans”, said Steve Tharp, a retired US Army colonel and former negotiator with the KPA, referring to mixed messages coming from Pyongyang.

Senate Democrats on Monday presented President Trump with their list of conditions for a denuclearization deal with North Korea, saying they would only support lifting sanctions on Pyongyang in exchange for complete dismantling of the nuclear program.

South Korea’s unification and defence ministries declined to confirm the report, while an official at the Unification Ministry said the government was watching the leadership situation in the North very closely.

Anticipating the meeting in Singapore, Trump has his sights set on a nuclear deal, leaving allies and advocates anxious that he may give short shrift to human rights abuses and regional security concerns.

US Democrats have urged Mr Trump not to waste the opportunity presented by the meeting.