APRNEWS - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived by train in the city of Vladivostok on Wednesday for his first trip to Russia aimed at galvanising support from President Vladimir Putin while nuclear talks with Washington are in a limbo.

APRNEWS - Russia has blocked the publication of a UN report on the implementation of sanctions against North Korea because it disagrees with some of the findings, Moscow’s ambassador to the world body said Thursday.

The report had previously been seen by media organizations including AFP before formal publication.

APRNEWS - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani lambasted on Tuesday President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from a deal with Iran on its nuclear programme, and said Iranians will not give in to U.S. pressure but would defend their independence and Islamic values.

REUTERS- US President Donald Trump said on Sunday a US team had arrived in North Korea to prepare for a proposed summit between him and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, which Trump pulled out of last week before reconsidering.

It was the latest twist in a week of diplomatic ups and downs over the prospects for the unprecedented meeting.

AFP - The two Koreas agreed Wednesday to march together under a single flag at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony and field a united women's ice hockey team for the Games in a further sign of easing tensions on the peninsula.

AFP - South Korea said Wednesday the United States is open to talks with North Korea "at appropriate times" if Pyongyang agrees.

AFP - North and South Korea held their first talks for two years Tuesday, stirring hopes of a tentative rapprochement between the bitterly divided neighbours.

Tensions soared last year as the North made rapid progress on its banned nuclear weapons programmes, while US President Donald Trump engaged in an increasingly bellicose verbal scrap with Pyongyang's leader Kim Jong-Un.

AFP - North and South Korea began their first official talks in more than two years on Tuesday, focussing on the forthcoming Winter Olympics after months of tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.

AFP - US President Donald Trump said overnight that high-level talks set for next week between North and South Korea are “a good thing,” while also seemingly taking credit for them.