But that meeting, in Hanoi, Vietnam, collapsed after Mr. Trump refused to lift sanctions until North Korea relinquished all its nuclear weapons. Stephen Biegun, Mr. Trump’s point man on North Korea, was in Seoul on Thursday for talks with South Korean officials on how to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table. Mr. Biegun has been widely expected to discuss humanitarian food aid that South Korea plans to provide to the North as an incentive. The choice to launch short-range projectiles suggested that Mr. Kim had not given up hope on resuming negotiations, analysts said. Mr. Trump has repeatedly cited Mr. Kim’s moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests as a reason to continue talks with North Korea.

Source: International New York Times May 09, 2019 08:03 UTC