South Korea indicates DPRK-US talks on the cards

North Korea (DPRK) is willing to hold talks with the United States at their earliest convenience, said South Korean (ROK) President Moon Jae-In in a statement on Sunday.

The South Korean leader said he'd met with the North Korean delegation that's in Pyeongchang for the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games, and told them that DPRK-US talks should happen "as soon as possible."

Moon said the North Koreans also indicated that "the inter-Korean relationship and North Korea-US relationship should develop together", as per media reports.

Moon met for an hour with the North Korean delegation at an undisclosed location in Pyeongchang at 5 pm local time on Sunday.

The statement did not make any mention of North Korea’s nuclear programme or whether the dialogue would be about denuclearisation.

But still, this is the first sign of willingness from North Korea in years, and it comes when the Trump administration has been signalling an openness to talk without preconditions.

Earlier on the very day, North Korea has strongly denounced the latest round of sanctions imposed by the United States, saying a blockade would be considered as an act of war.