South Korea’s presidential office said on Thursday it saw little prospect of US-North Korea contact around the upcoming APEC summit in China or of Pyongyang’s participation in APEC-related events.
US President Donald Trump has sought to restart talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but US and South Korean officials see fading chances of a meeting this year.
A senior South Korean presidential official, commenting on a recent spike in tensions along the inter-Korean border, also said no additional North Korean activity had been detected at the Demilitarized Zone beyond preparations for possible loudspeaker broadcasts.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, announced last month that her country was considering restarting propaganda broadcasts over loudspeakers near the inter-Korean border, ratcheting up tensions with Seoul.
South Korea says North Korean mines planted as part of its fortification activity in the DMZ caused a blast in September that seriously wounded several of its soldiers. North Korea denies responsibility, calling the incident a South Korean fabrication.
South Korea is also monitoring whether Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the APEC summit in Shenzhen next week, given Seoul had some diplomatic issues to discuss with Moscow, he said without elaborating.
A possible trilateral summit involving the United States, China and Russia at the gathering could provide an opportunity for the countries to discuss North Korea, the official said.