US, N. Korea secret talks to decide summit venue KOREAS PLANS FOR NEW HOTLINE

Washington, April 7: The United States and North Korea are holding secret, direct talks to prepare for a summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, news network CNN reported.

CIA director Mike Pompeo and a team at the CIA have been working through intelligence backchannels to make preparations for the summit, the officials said. American and North Korean intelligence have spoken several times and have even met in a third country, with a focus on nailing down a location for the talks.

Although the North Korean regime has not publicly declared its invitation by Kim Jong Un to meet Trump, which was conveyed in March by a South Korean envoy, several officials say North Korea has since acknowledged Trump’s acceptance, and Pyongyang has reaffirmed Kim is willing to discuss denuclearisation of Korean peninsula.

The North Koreans are pushing to have the meeting in their capital, Pyongyang, sources said.

— Agencies Seoul, April 7: North and South Korea held talks over establishing a telephone hotline between their leaders and other communication issues ahead of a summit between the rivals in April.

North Korea’s diplomatic outreach has brought a lull to tensions over a nuclear programme that saw Kim and Trump exchange threats last year. — Agencies