North Korea is reportedly ready to talk nuclear weapons with the U.S. again

And we're back.

North Korean state media said Pyongyang and Washington are set to revive denuclearization talks with a preliminary meeting Friday followed by official negotiations Saturday, The Wall Street Journal reports. Morgan Ortagus, a State Department spokeswoman, confirmed Tuesday that U.S. and North Korean officials "plan to meet within the next week" to continue the stalled negotiations. Ortagus did not share any further details about the meeting.

The talks broke down in February after President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un were unable to come to an agreement about the future of North Korea's nuclear program during a summit in Hanoi, Vietnam. The two leaders did meet briefly after Trump made an impromptu visit to the Demilitarized Zone in June where they agreed their countries would restart official talks at a later date, which appears to be approaching swiftly.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

The timing may have something to do with the exit of Trump's former National Security Adviser John Bolton, who was more hawkish than the president when it came to dealing with Kim. North Korea reportedly considered Bolton a "nasty troublemaker," and officials were pleased when Trump forced him out of the White House. Bolton warned as recently as Monday that the Trump administration shouldn't trust Pyongyang, though there's not much he can do about it now. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.