Overview
- South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers it has detected movements consistent with preparing for U.S. dialogue and judges Pyongyang would make contact only if conditions are met.
- The assessment, delivered in a closed parliamentary briefing, says Kim Jong Un has shown willingness to engage and has toned down direct nuclear rhetoric since September as he tests the environment.
- North Korea’s deputy foreign minister for U.S. affairs issued a statement condemning new unilateral U.S. sanctions, calling them evidence of a hostile stance.
- Regional context shifted as China announced it will suspend the effect of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods, easing a pressure point in U.S.–China trade ties.
- Russia amplified nuclear signaling, with President Vladimir Putin announcing trial deployment of the Sarmat ICBM this year and his defense minister proposing preparations for a full-scale nuclear test, which Putin did not endorse at the meeting.